Gråbrødre Plads

Location: Odense
Client: Municipality of Odense
Team: Stig L. Andersson, Helene Koch, Ulla Hornsyld, Sofie Kjærsgaard Jørgensen, Martin Søberg, Flemming Rafn Thomsen
Collaborators: Lemming & Eriksson Advicing Engineers

Sponsor: Realdania
Design phase: 2009
Area: 8000 m2

Gråbrøde Plads has the potential of being the new favorite place in Odense. A vivid space for many different activities and many dif-ferent people. That is why we call it the new public space. An urban space which is positive and invi-ting to its surroundings. An ur-ban space which opens up when activated.

Gråbrødre Plads should be flex-ible towards changing initiatives and have space for the active li-fe, the unexpected, and welcome the stranger. Today many peo-ple wishes to live a simple life, engaged to their surroundings. In the new public space of Odense the dream comes true.

To sense before we reflect is the point we strive for at Gråbrødre Plads. The expression of the ur-ban space is ever-changing. It depends on the weather, of wind and sun, the same way as the clouds are, and the water's ripple on the sea. It is a question of the correlation between playing people, weather, light, water and colors. This correlation takes pla-ce within a unique and classic physical frame, that was founded more than 800 years ago. A fra-me of architecture with a long historical background, based on a disciplined monastic order. It is this frame that makes it possible to create a playful, light and poetic atmosphere between peo-ple, flowing through the space, making a stop at the cafe, or find joy in the bright and aroma-tic urban space.

Gråbrødre Plads should be more than just a transit zone, it should also be a zone with room for new experiences. We know from ma-ny studies and analyses that wa-ter and light specific unite people and spread joy. It creates play and new awareness. The water fills the urban space with sounds and blends in with the sound of the conversation between adults, children's voices and the traffic of the city. On Gråbrødre Plads nozzles send out a mist of water illuminated in different pastel co-lors. The amount of water is au-tomatically ajusted depending on the weather, and the catching and recycling of rainwater can enter in a sustaninable way into the creative recycling of the rain-water.

There are three types of water. There is the water surface, the water mist and the rainwater. Centrally placed in the urban space is a level-free circular spot. It is fully accessible to both pedestrians and to cyclists.

When the water is not trickling out of the nozzle and floats to the drain, the circle lays fully in-tegrated with the floor of the ur-ban space, making an essential part of the general urban space planning, forming the space to a clear whole. At night the reflec-ting surface will mirror the warm light from the many windows and activities from the surroundings.

The other type of water in the ur-ban space are the water nozzles. Spread out all over the urban space are small nozzles levelled with the surface. The nozzles are places with light-emitting diodes, which shine light pastel colored at night.

The third type of water is the rainwater. The natural rainwater outlines different wet stains on the square, giving an impression of camouflage. It dries quickly though, in different stages de-pending on the type of stone. This pattern emphasizes the idea of the urban space: the ever-changing and sensuous in a strong frame of history.

Gråbrødre Plads' shared floor is a new surface in bright and warm grey nuances. We suggest natu-re stone such as dark basalt, warm grey and brown-grey slate and light granite. In a combina-tion of natural surface of fracture on slate and rugged basalt with ribbed granite a whole new tex-ture is obtained in the urban space. A texture that can be heard when walking down the square, and which can be seen as short parallel shadows when the low light shines into the ur-ban space. The light is reflected in the light color nuances, and the urban space appears bright and pleasant. The obliging ra-diant heat will be reflected, and the surface will combined with water secure a cool microclimate different from the surroundings.