Hasta La Ideas

News: Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen has won a competition to design a theatre and cultural centre in Hjørring, Denmark, with plans for a series of buildings clad in Corten steel (+ slideshow).

Working alongside local firm Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Schmidt Hammer Lassen will design a 4200 square-metre complex named the Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre, which is set to open in 2016.

The development will be made up of several rectilinear blocks, with walls of Corten steel and glass intended to fit in with the brick and plaster facades that typify the town’s architecture.

“We have designed a project where the architectural and functional concept has five main themes: integration in the city, openness, functionality, flexibility and materiality,” said architect John Foldbjerg Lassen, who is one of the founding partners of Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

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

The architects propose an open-plan layout that will allow corridors to be repurposed 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 architect Rasmus Kierkegaard.

“Actors and staff are visible to the visitors in the building, and the building will appear vibrant even with only a few persons present,” he added.

Here’s some more information from Schmidt Hammer Lassen:

Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects wins competition for Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre

As part of a team, schmidt hammer lassen architects has won the competition to design Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre in Hjørring, Denmark. With this 4,200 square metre building, Hjørring gains a vibrant cultural hub in which to feature the city’s various cultural activities. The winning design was submitted by a team including schmidt hammer lassen architects, Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Brix & Kamp, ALECTIA, Gade & Mortensen Akustik, AIX Arkitekter, Filippa Berglund scenography, and LIW Planning.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Completion of Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre is expected in 2016.

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

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for Danish theatre complex appeared first on Dezeen.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has paid homage to the northern lights by constructing a titanium-clad cathedral that spirals up towards the sky (+ slideshow).

Danish studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen teamed up with Scandinavian firm Link Arkitektur to design the Cathedral of the Northern Lights in Alta, a Norwegian town located 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The cathedral was conceived as a public attraction for tourists visiting the natural light display, officially known as the Aurora Borealis, which occurs when particles from the sun collide with the earth’s magnetic field. It can be observed frequently between late autumn and early spring.

With a spiralling body, the cathedral winds up to form a pointed belfry 47 metres above the ground.

“The Cathedral of the Northern Lights is a landmark, which through its architecture symbolises the extraordinary natural phenomenon of the Arctic northern lights,” said Schmidt Hammer Lassen partner John F. Lassen.

Shimmering titanium clads the exterior and was added to reflect the vivid green colours of the lights as they flicker across the sky.

“The cathedral reflects, both literally and metaphorically, the northern lights: ethereal, transient, poetic and beautiful,” added Lassen. “It appears as a solitary sculpture in interaction with the spectacular nature.”

The spiralling form continues inside the building, where offices, classrooms and exhibition areas wrap around a 350-person hall, which will be used for church congregations.

This isn’t the first time the northern lights have provided the inspiration for architecture. Henning Larsen Architects and artist Olafur Eliasson drew inspiration from the lights when designing the Harpa Concert and Conference Centre in Reykjavík, Iceland.

A number of architectural projects have been completed in the northern parts of Norway in recent years. Peter Zumthor built a memorial to commemorate suspected witches, while Reiulf Ramstad Architects has added platforms high up in the Norwegian mountains.

See more architecture in Norway »

Above: site plan – click for larger image

Photography is by Adam Mørk.

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

Here’s some more information from Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects:

Official inauguration of the Cathedral of the Northern Lights in Alta, Norway

The Crown Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit, has just inaugurated the Cathedral of the Northern Lights situated in the Norwegian town of Alta approximately 500 km north of the Arctic Circle. Even before the inauguration, the 47-metre-high cathedral, designed by schmidt hammer lassen architects in cooperation with Link Arkitektur, was perceived as a symbol and an architectural landmark for the entire area.

Above: basement level plan – click for larger image 

In 2001, when the architecture competition for the Cathedral of the Northern Lights was arranged, the city council in Alta did not just want a new church: they wanted an architectural landmark that would underline Alta’s role as a public venue from which the natural phenomenon of the northern lights could be observed.

Above: long section – click for larger image

The significance of the northern lights is reflected in the architecture of the cathedral. The contours of the church rise as a spiralling shape to the tip of the belfry 47 metres above the ground. The façade, clad in titanium, reflects the northern lights during the long periods of Arctic winter darkness and emphasizes the experience of the phenomenon.

Above: cross section – click for larger image

Inside the main area of the cathedral, the church room creates a peaceful contrast to the dynamic exterior of the building. The materials used, raw concrete for the walls and wood for the floors, panels and ceilings, underline the Nordic context. Daylight enters the church room through tall, slim, irregularly placed windows. A skylight lights up the whole wall behind the altar creating a distinctive atmosphere in the room.

Above: front elevation

The cathedral, which can accommodate 350 people in the church room, also has administration offices, classrooms, exhibition areas and a parochial area.

Above: side elevation

Architect team: schmidt hammer lassen architects, Link Arkitektur A/S
Client: The Municipality of Alta
Area: 1,917 sqm
Construction sum: €16.2 million
Competition: 2001, 1st prize in restricted architecture competition
Status: Construction period 2009 – 2013
Engineer: Rambøll AS, Alta
Main contractor: Ulf Kivijervi AS
Art work: Peter Brandes

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Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Link Arkitektur appeared first on Dezeen.