The client brief asked for an “Andersenian Universe” when Studio ZNA won the competition to be the lighting designers for this exciting project.

Kengo Kuma were the architects for this new building and together with Event and the client team, the exhibition design and building design were developed hand in hand to produce a building led by narratives of the Anderson imagination. The lighting design played a significant role in supporting the visitors’ narrative experience throughout their journey, expressing mood, tone and dynamism in a carefully choreographed presentation of sound, light and scenography.

Our designed lightscape was to deliver the following; mood lighting, theatrical and dynamic lighting, state-of-the-art objects and graphic content lighting, creative way-finding and orientation lighting. It had to express a connection with the garden realm exterior and stories realm interior. The systems and toolkit designed to provide this were fully synchronised with the sophisticated audio and visual narrative delivery.

The “Andersenian Universe” was devised in 4 Sections/Realms. On entering the museum Anderson’s life and work, memories and imaginations is presented throughout the Biographical Realm utilising a host of sophisticated display methods. There is a curving ramp, with a diffusely lit membrane that connects the biographical spaces and leads down to the subterranean Fairy-tale Realm where the visitor becomes a participant in the stories - the light helps create space time and mood.  En route connections to the Garden Realm beyond are highlighted. The Children’s Realm provides and fully immersive interactive learning environment where the lightscape can move from daytime to night time to allow for imaginative story settings to be created by the young storytellers.