H.C. Andersen’s House
A Fairytale Wonderland
- Programme
- 2016 – 2021
- Scale
- 5,200m²
- Client
- Odense City Museums
- Locations
- Programme
- 2016 – 2021
- Scale
- 5,200m²
- Client
- Odense City Museums
An enchanting journey into another realm
Hans Christian Andersen’s House of Fairytales Museum’s brief sought create a physical and emotional centre for the reenergised city of Odense. The museum itself was conceived as an immersive, playful adventure for children and their accompanying adults. We were commissioned to deliver this ambitious brief in 2016.
Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj
Designing from the inside out
‘The Enchanted Garden’ was the museum’s foundation theme which inspired our designs. The fairytale garden is a place of mystery, magic and transformation. Visitors are invited in as participants, not observers. The concept for the experience drove the architectural approach. Working closely with architect Kengo Kuma, we created a journey where every walkway, vista and twist and turn is part of the narrative.
Visitors are transformed into a character their own a story, on a quest of discovery. They begin by winding down a ramp into an underground fairy-tale realm where they stroll underneath a pond and see mermaids swimming past, singing a siren song. Meanwhile, Hans Christian Andersen narrates his own story, leading visitors through the experience as he shares his secrets and reveals his creative processes.
The exhibits fuse digital and analogue to reflect children’s perceptions of the world as a magical place. Binaural, 3D-mapped sound mean objects appear to talk if you stand close enough. We invited artists, composers, puppeteers and authors help create this imaginative world, where the possible and impossible shift in and out of focus.
Notable Awards
- German Design Awards 2023
- European Museum Academy DASA Award 2022
- Children in Museums Award 2022
- Shortlisted, International Exhibition of the Year, Museums + Heritage Award 2022
Images: Gareth Gardner
Museum Studio has created an inspiring and highly coherent fairy tale world… Museum Studio demonstrates a flair for the poetic and childlike imagination of Hans Christian Andersen, and conveys this with a warm, organic and vital expression.
H.C. Andersen's Hus Concept Competition, Final Jury Report
Partner
Iso Design
Partner
Kengo Kuma & Associates
Partner
The Hub
Image: Gareth Gardner
Both ingenious and magical.
Jane Jegind, Odense’s head of cultural affairs
One of the most striking features of the content in Andersen's fairy tales is to give inanimate objects a psyche, a voice and a story...
Frankfurter Allgemeine
