Borgernes Hus, New citizen house, Odense, Denmark

Borgernes Hus, New citizen house, Odense, Denmark

A place for people

By Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi

AI Architects & Engineers was commissioned to transform a large portion of the Odense Railway Center into a modern assembly house with a range of public activities. Thanks to a gold finish and the use of light, the building became an attractive meeting point.

The Citizen House in Odense, Denmark is the result of a participatory process sponsored by the local municipality and actively involving inhabitants in the creation of a dynamic and lively center designed to meet their needs.

The project developed in two phases. There was a preliminary period, managed with the Danish Design Centre, Blue Bakery and Urgent.Agency, during which citizens helped define the brief to the architects. The project was then developed by AI Architects & Engineers, a practice that specializes in projects with a strong social impact, such as community centers, schools and housing.

The municipality commissioned the design team to transform a large portion of the Odense Railway Center into a new 6,500 square meter library space that provided the things the citizens wanted: a music library, the citizens’ service, the Center for Civil Society and the Odense Center.

“Gold is a material that reacts well to light: both natural and artificial. It makes the building look inviting and transforms the facade into something attractive and easily identified. It gives the building a new character and identity”.

Tomas Snog, creative director of AI