HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN Museum ODENSE, Denmark

“A Hans Christian Anderson – inspired fairy tale museum……..One of the best new things to do in the world in 2022.”
- Time Out Magazine April 2022

The client brief described as an “Andersenian Universe” when Studio ZNA won the competition to be the lighting designers for this exciting project.

Kengo Kuma were the architects for this new building and with Event and the client team, the exhibition design and building design was developed hand in hand to produce a building led by narratives of the Anderson imagination. The lighting design played a significant role in supporting the visitors narrative experience throughout their journey, expressing mood, tone and dynamism in a carefully choreographed presentation of sound, light and scenography.

Our designed lightscape was to deliver the following; mood lighting, theatrical and dynamic lighting, state of the art objects and graphic content lighting, creative way-finding and orientation lighting and express a connection with the garden realm exterior and stories realm interior. The systems and toolkit designed to provide this were fully synchronised with the sophisticated audio and visual narrative delivery.

The “Andersenian Universe” was devised in 4 Sections/Realms. On entering the museum Anderson’s life and work, memories and imaginations is presented throughout the Biographical Realm utilising a host of sophisticated display methods. There is a curving ramp, with a diffusely lit membrane that connects the biographical spaces and leads down to the subterranean Fairy-tale Realm where the visitor becomes a participant in the stories and the light help create space time and mood.  En route connections to the Garden Realm beyond are highlighted. The Children’s Realm provides and fully immersive interactive learning environment where the lightscape can move from daytime to night time to allow for imaginative story settings to be created by the young storytellers.                              

Exhibition Design:  Event
Architects: Kengo Kuma
Audio Visual Design: ISOdesign
Images courtesy of HCA, Photography by Rasmus Hjortshoej – COAST and Laerke Beck Johansen, H.C Andersen's House

Awards:

IDA Award - Silver in Interior Design / Interior Lighting, 2022

LIT Lighting Design Award - Winners in Interior Architectural Illumination / Visitor Experience & Museum Exhibition 2022