Alderete . Alderete . Cornellana

house of fairy tales . odense

Pablo Ramos Alderete . Jaime Ramos Alderete . Joan-Ramon Cornellana Diaz . house of fairy tales

It is proposed a versatile system that solves both the building and the garden at the same time, providing the whole project with a unitary and unique image. This system, inspired by Andersen’s papercuts, is made up of cut and folded walls which, arising from Andersen’s Birthplace and then unfolding, surround the whole garden. Through very simple procedure, this system allows the adjustment to a wide range of situations, making it possible to shelter many different uses, secret places, that which already exists and that which could exist.

Fairytales becomes then a world of surprises, always different, a world of multiple layers which must be discovered one at a time. Height and number of layers change depending on what happens inside, giving place to higher and deeper façades, and terraces that are part of the garden. Sometimes the walls become arcades and define gardens. The largest volume, which is born in Memorial Hall and starts in the east part of the site, hides the Museum, which is extended in a lower height to the south until it ends, high again, in a large room that can be used as auditorium. The north area of the site is occupied by the cafe and part of the Tinderbox Cultural Centre, which is extended so as to embrace the whole garden. Black colour is proposed due to its ability to take the viewers to a new world very different from the daily one, submerging them in a fantasy and always mysterious place. Black, which enables audiovisual screenings and lighting sets, is a frame to any other colour, such as those in the garden, highlighting its liveliness.

CONCEPT
It is proposed a versatile system that solves both the building and the garden at the same time, providing the whole project with a unitary and unique image. This system, inspired by Andersen’s papercuts, is made up of cut and folded walls which, arising from Andersen’s Birthplace and then unfolding, surround the whole garden. Through very simple procedure, this system allows the adjustment to a wide range of situations, making it possible to shelter many different uses, secret places, that which already exists and that which could exist. Fairytales becomes then a world of surprises, always different, a world of multiple layers which must be discovered one at a time.
Height and number of layers change depending on what happens inside, giving place to higher and deeper façades, and terraces that are part of the garden. Sometimes the walls become arcades and define gardens. The largest volume, which is born in Memorial Hall and starts in the east part of the site, hides the Museum, which is extended in a lower height to the south until it ends, high again, in a large room that can be used as auditorium. The north area of the site is occupied by the cafe and part of the Tinderbox Cultural Centre, which is extended so as to embrace the whole garden. Black colour is proposed due to its ability to take the viewers to a new world very different from the daily one, submerging them in a fantasy and always mysterious place. Black, which enables audiovisual screenings and lighting sets, is a frame to any other colour, such as those in the garden, highlighting its liveliness.
GARDEN
The garden means the entrance to the building, since it must be crossed to enter. From the very first moment surrounds the visitor, so that the immersion into the new world comes straight away. Two arcaded folds embrace some secret gardens in a private manner, as the flower garden or the aromatic one. The central space is occupied by the forest of bending trees, lowlying vegetation and the great lake, which reflects and multiplies the peaks and folds of the building, and partially enters into those closed gardens. A rail system crosses the garden: it is proposed an unfolding pavilion, as a folie, that can be moved through different places of the garden and can be used as scenario for any outdoor performance. But the garden does not end in the ground floor. Some integrated stairs connect with the building terraces, which hide more secret gardens and enable the visitors to enjoy the fairy castle from different heights, turning the garden experience into a discovery trip. In the same way the building does, the whole garden arises and is directed to the Birthplace.
ACCESS AND CIRCULATION
The main access to the museum and cultural centre is produced through the garden, which has its own exit from the underground tunnels. In the museum, one enters to a first hall with access to the café and the shop, with an exit point as well. From this first hall one reaches the Memorial Hall, where the ticket sale service and the entrance to the exhibition area are located.
MUSEOGRAPHY
The main virtue of the system, besides its formal richness, is its great flexibility. It is suggested, in principle, as an ordered continuous route through open rooms that explain Andersen’s life and from which it is possible to connect with other itineraries and parallel rooms dedicated to tales. The journey through the writer’s life is proposed in terms of a “forest”, by means of lecterns and free-standing glass cases, around which the visitor moves. The tales rooms, on the other hand, could be theme spaces, with recreations of tales that involve the visitor through books, objects or screenings, meaning full immersion into a fantasy world. However, this itinerary in parallel stripes is able to change due to the system flexibility; therefore, one could walk through it in a zigzag way, switching between life and tales or any other configuration. Some greater rooms and spaces are left for large installations or other uses, such as improvised or regulated concert halls.

design team: Pablo Ramos Alderete . Jaime Ramos Alderete . Joan-Ramon Cornellana Diaz