[Translate to Englisch:] Hans Christian Andersen Museum Außenansicht

[Translate to Englisch:] Hans Christian Andersen Museum Anschlussdetail

[Translate to Englisch:] Hans Christian Andersen Museum Fassade

Odense (DK)

Hans Christian Andersen Museum

Timber construction meets magical garden: The new experience museum around the fairytale world of Hans Christian Andersen, who died in 1875, covers 6,000 square metres and invites visitors to go on a special journey through the author's stories.

The Dane’s famous timeless tales such as The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Princess and the Pea and The Emperor's New Clothes still hold great appeal for young and old. The City of Odense, together with the Danish AP Moeller Foundation (Maersk Logistics) as a generous donor, therefore decided to bring the existing mini-museum around the birthplace of H.C. Andersen into a new age and dimension.

Task

Making stories come true – with timber

Japanese star architect, Kengo Kuma, who also designed the Olympic Stadium In Tokyo, is known for his efforts to replace concrete with alternative materials. It was therefore not surprising that he uses mainly timber in the new building of the H.C. Andersen Museum to give this fairytale landscape the perfect shape.

Implementation

A museum made of timber and glass

The timber construction was inspired by historical half-timbered houses. On different levels with several circular buildings, a theme park was created in the middle of the old town, where visitors from all over the world can be enchanted. The timber and glass façades are traditional and modern at the same time.

The museum was embedded in a large "magical" garden, thereby making the settings of Andersen's tales come to life.

[Translate to Englisch:] Hans Christian Andersen Museum Holz-Glas Fassade

A good partnership

“It was not easy to find a company who can fulfil the demanding design requirements from Kengo Kuma, but when we met WIEHAG at their factory in Austria, we were convinced without doubt that they are the right partner for this project.”

— Troels Bramming – VITA Engineers Denmark

Project profile

Location: Odense (DK)
Client: City of Odense with the support of the AP Moeller Foundation (Maersk Logistics)
Architecture: Kengo Kuma, Japan
Museum area: 6,000 m²
Total construction cost: 50 million euros
Completion: June 2021