New fairy-tale museum building

The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) continue to inspire children and adults around the world to this day. Given this unwavering popularity, Denmark’s third largest city, Odense, has recently dedicated a rather unusual new museum building to its most famous son. To embrace the historical architecture of the mostly single-storey rows of houses in the old town and simultaneously create space for a beautifully designed garden, Kengo Kuma And Associates have housed most of the museum underground. A group of circular timber pavilions of different heights is all that can be seen above ground.

The five building structures accommodate the entrance area, museum shop, café and workshop rooms. They blend in completely organically with the enchanted garden landscape thanks to their curved glass façades and sloping green roofs. In the centre of the complex, the view opens up over glazed barriers down to a sunken garden containing a small expanse of water. The underground exhibition areas are arranged around this space. The interplay of the different floors creates an artistic spatial design that immerses visitors into the fantastic world of H. C. Andersen.

The architects took great care when designing the curved glazed façade, with the striking diagonal struts and the half-timbered architecture echoing the author’s neighbouring birthplace. A timber add-on construction allows a harmonious look to be achieved inside the building. Laminated timber profiles have been used in some areas externally to emphasise the style of a traditional half-timbered building.