schmidt hammer lassen to design Vendsyssel Theater and Experience Center in Hjørring, Denmark

schmidt hammer lassen architects recently announced winning the competition to design the Vendsyssel Theater and Experience Center, a 4,200 m2 culture facility to be built in Hjørring, Denmark.

Along with the Danish firm, the winning interdisciplinary team included Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Brix & Kamp, ALECTIA, Gade & Mortensen Akustik, AIX Arkitekter, Filippa Berglund scenography, and LIW Planning.

Completion is expected in 2016.

Check out some images from shl right below.

From the shl announcement:

"The architectural ambition for the new Theatre and Experience Centre has been to create a building which blends into the surrounding environment while standing out as a new, vibrant organism in the city."

"'We have designed a project where the architectural and functional concept has five main themes: integration in the city, openness, functionality, flexibility and materiality,' explained John Foldbjerg Lassen, Founding Partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects."

"'We have designed a significant building which relates to its function in a pragmatic way. It invites both active use and quiet breaks. It is a building which radiates its cultural meaning – it dares to be different, without stealing the focus from the existing qualities in the city.'"

"The Theatre and Experience Centre consists of a complex of buildings – a city within the city. Its characteristic corten steel façade, with its warm rusty red colours, corresponds well with the area’s existing plaster and brick façades; thereby creating an aesthetic whole between the city, the front plaza and the theatre building."

"In the building layout special attention has been paid to making sure that all functions can operate optimally. At the same time many areas can be joined and the circulation areas can be used as backstage facilities."

”'The open plan ensures a high level of flexibility in the building, and only your imagination sets the limit for where and how the theatre productions can take place,” said Rasmus Kierkegaard, Associate Partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects. “Actors and staff are visible to the visitors in the building, and the building will appear vibrant even with only a few persons present.'”

"A vibrant building with a glimpse of the backstage Inside, an open plan solution ensures visual and physical connections across the building. The boundaries between publicly accessible areas and the more traditional theatre functions are blurred."

Project Data:

Architect team: schmidt hammer lassen architects, Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard A/S
Client: Municipality of Hjørring, Realdania
Area: 4,200m²
Construction sum: €16.5 million excl. VAT
Competition: 2013, 1st prize in restricted competition
Full-service consultant: schmidt hammer lassen architects
Engineer: Brix & Kamp A/S, ALECTIA A/S
Landscape architect: LIW Planning Aps
Other consultants: Gade & Mortensen Akustik A/S, AIX Arkitekter AB, Filippa Berglund, scenograf, arkitekt maa

Images courtesy of schmidt hammer lassen architects.

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