Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects to compete in historical urban development project

After having competing for the Waalse Krook Urban Library of the Future and Center for New Media (Gent, Belgium), Aarhus-based Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects will compete to transform the street Thomas B. Thriges Gade in Odense, Danemark.

The agency presents the guideline of this competition as follows:

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects is among the seven teams competing to transform the street Thomas B. Thriges Gade in Odense, Denmark, from busy junction to a sustainable neighbourhood. Several of the 25 teams which have shown interest in the competition were international.

Aerial view of The street Thomas B. Thriges Gade, Odense. Originally appeared on Realdania.

On a daily basis, 35,000 cars pass the large street Thomas B. Thriges Gade, which has divided the central part of the city of Odense into two since the 1960ties. Now, the street will be changed into a new district with diversity in residential spaces, retail spaces, offices, public squares and cafés. The vision is to develop a coherent and sustainable city with focus on providing vibrant urban life.

Realdania which along with Odense Municipal is behind the project explains that "instead of four lanes of asphalt, a diverse neighbourhood which is appealing for living and shopping will emerge."

"The visionary urban development project is to bridge the gap between the eastern and western part of Odense in order to remove the barrier which Thomas B. Thriges Gade has constituted since the late 1960ies", writes Realdania in a press release.

The motor vehicles which would usually drive through the central parts of Odense will in the future be guided away from midtown via the new bridge Odins Bro traversing Odense canal. The bridge is expected to be finished by 2014.

The decision to transform Thomas B. Thriges Gade Street into cityscape was passed by a unanimous City Council in Odense. Realdania will support the urban development project with EUR 34,230,000 (255 mill. dkr).

According to Realdania the competition is a two-phased project competition where one or more winners will be selected in the first phase of the competition. In the second phase, the selected teams has a chance to develop their proposal in a dialogue with the committee and its advisors. The final winning project is to be announced by November 2011.

Aside from the three architectural jury members, the jury consists of Mayor of Odense Anker Boye, Councillor Hans Boye, The Municpality of Odense, CEO Flemming Borreskov, and Director Hans Peter Svendler.

I can't wait to see their design proposal.

Who are they?
Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was founded in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1986 by architects Morten Schmidt, Bjarne Hammer and John F. Lassen. Today, the practice has grown substantially and employs 140 staff. The group of partners has also grown and now includes Kim Holst Jensen along with four associate partners. day-t-day management of the practice is the responsibility of CEO Bente Damgaard.