TO & FRO
Once the cultivating grounds for herbs and plants from around the world, a magical place defined by its eccentric collection of flora, its artificially natural rock formations and caves, and its uncommon water features, Lotze’s Garden stands apart within the city of Odense as a place unique for its history, its meaning, and its potential.
Located in the heart of Odense’s newly reorganized, pedestrian-only central district, the garden embodies the verdant heart of the city. Within this park lies the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and its eponymous House of Fairytales.
This newly added section of the museum ostensibly stands apart from the pre-existing museum, marked by small pavilions scattered around the expanded garden that at first glance appear to be disconnected, solid sculptural volumes, reminiscent of the forms taken by nearby rooftops surrounding the garden (and of its historical predecessor, an 1850s greenhouse built by Lotze himself), but rendered in abstract.
Upon further inspection, the white brick pavilions offer more than meets the eye: as you near the pavilions, the seemingly solid, brick-inspired skin dissolves, a magical effect due to its transparent qualities. The result is a captivating effect that tempers with the time of day and with the activities within.
On the surface, the simple pavilion volumes are playfully scattered across the garden. Below the surface, the depths of the pavilions captivate. Each of these pavilions in reality do not stand alone, but rather intersect an interconnected subterranean realm of richly programmed passageways centered around the works of Hans Christian Andersen. The relationship between pavilion and passageway embodies most especially the elements of duality that run through the work of the author: light vs dark, good vs evil, beautiful vs ugly, surface vs interior.
Much like Andersen’s beloved paper cut art, the museum seeks to and achieves bringing pleasure to the eye but also a challenge to the mind. To and fro, you engage with the museum as it magically transports you through the world of Hans Christian Andersen, in alternation between the ephemeral worlds of your imagination and your intellect.
Competition entry, 2013.
Completed in collaboration with David Nix.