Vejle Cultural Center

A vibrant cultural center with space for community, reflection, play, and music

Location

Vejle, Danmark

Developer

Kruse Smith

Size

19,500 m2

Status

Completed in 2014

Acquisition

Winning proposal in open international architecture competition in 2007

Architect

AART
Kraftverk

Awards

WAN Residenital Award
Best on Archilovers
Finalist for MIPIM Awards
Finalist for Plan Awards

Vejle's new cultural center will be a forward-thinking and welcoming gathering place for the citizens of Vejle. With the vision of creating Denmark's best children's library and prioritizing sustainable solutions, the cultural center will be a joy for all generations. The project is a transformation of Vejle's existing library, where a new, resource-conscious aesthetic shapes the cultural center both inside and out.

A cultural gathering point across generations

The new cultural center will bring together Vejle's Library and music & cultural school under one roof, creating an inspiring and professionally strong environment. The new cultural center will become a landmark for Vejle – a gathering place for citizens and a catalyst for cultural development locally, regionally, and nationally.

The center will create a lively and inclusive environment where people of all ages can meet, share experiences, and engage in music, culture, and literature. It will offer space for both play, rhythm, and joy, as well as quiet reflection and immersion.

A transformation that connects the past and future

The new cultural center will be a comprehensive transformation of the city's existing library, which will be opened and connected across floors. The cultural center will expand with two new wings on both sides, creating a connection between the existing and the new – both symbolically and functionally.

A new multifunctional hall facing the park and a new entrance building facing the plaza will create a dynamic interaction between the old and the new, with the building stretching towards all four corners of the world – without a defined front or back.

The building will thus appear as a unified, modern cultural center that respects the area's history, reuses, and develops the existing structure, while simultaneously adding a new identity and functionality to the place.

The project paves the way for a new environmentally and resource-conscious aesthetic, with notable elements from the original architecture – for example, by recycling the building’s concrete structure, which will become a prominent part of the interior. New interior materials will use bio-based products, which will contrast beautifully with the existing concrete construction. On the exterior, the building will have a new architectural expression, with new facades made of recycled aluminum panels and wood.

Vejle’s new library and cultural center. The building will not just be a structure, but a vibrant place for communities, where different groups can meet, share experiences, and pursue their interests in an inclusive environment. It will be a new landmark for the city – a gathering point for citizens and a catalyst for cultural development.

Anne Sofie Buur Okkels, Partner and Architect at AART

The Landscape as an Extension of the Building

Culture and nature are two concepts that contrast with each other. This fascinating contradiction is the starting point for the landscape project at Vejle Cultural Center.

The outdoor areas of the cultural center will be designed with both usability and natural beauty in mind. As a visitor, you will experience a material coherence between the inside and outside.

The choice of materials in the landscape will incorporate a high degree of recycling of concrete elements, reusing broken materials from the building in the paving around the cultural center. In this way, sustainability, aesthetics, and storytelling will harmonize – even in the center’s outdoor areas.

Connecting the city and creating communities across boundaries

With its location, the cultural center will form a connection between the urban and the natural landscapes – between nature and culture – and will support Vejle's vision of being a sustainable and resilient city.

The center's facades will simulate the pages of a book that open and invite visitors inside. The open and inclusive design will make the life of the cultural center visible to all and create communities across the area and the city.

Thus, Vejle’s new cultural center will be an inspiring meeting place for citizens of all ages, who come to be moved – culturally, socially, and physically.