New cultural district in Aarhus set for disused railway zone

A four-way collaboration of Danish architects has been successful in the design competition for a new culture district in Denmark’s second largest city. The masterplan will provide a new hub for the advancement and display of scenography, visual arts and literature, transforming the Northern Goods Railway in Aarhus.

NORD Architects will develop the masterplan for the site which is to create recreational space in conjunction with cultural projects and merge innovative modern architecture with existing buildings. A sense of place and community will be created using a transparent ground level and roof gardens. The project’s cultural buildings and recreational space will be joined by a number of terraced houses which will integrate with a similar transparency at the ground level.

3XN are on board to transform the former freight train halls into a Cultural Production Center. Their designs will renovate the existing halls adding a new building incorporating large scale auditoria and generating 9,000 sq m space. This project will deliver an integrated design extending green space over the building as a ‘green carpet’.

Hans Ulrik Jensen A/S and Exners Studio together with engineering firm Søren Jensen also collaborate in the winning designs, elements of which will see completion in 2012. The jury said: “The project has succeeded in creating a modern urban structure at the same time as it has created a convincing connection to the surrounding landscape.”