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