The new H.C. Andersen House, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, has opened its doors to visitors in the Danish city of Odense.

Dedicated to the life of the celebrated author – famous for his fairytales, such as the Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling – the US$62m visitor attraction consists of both indoor and outdoor spaces.

The attraction is located on the site of Hans Christian Andersen’s childhood home in Odense, which first opened as a museum in 1908.

As part of a Denmark-wide initiative to expand the country’s cultural tourism offer, the City of Odense embarked on a project to transform the museum into a flagship tourist attraction, harnessing the worldwide appeal of Andersen’s stories.

The new attraction aims to break new ground in its combination of site and collection interpretation with immersive theatre, bringing visitors into a new appreciation of Andersen’s creative output and celebrating his imagination.

It has a floor space of 5,600sq m – two-thirds of which is underground, creating a "magical garden space" in the centre of Odense.

Inside, visitors navigate a series of immersive chambers, trails and interactive exhibits that bring the master storyteller’s tales to life.

The exhibition spaces have been designed in partnership by UK-based Event Communications and 12 selected artists from around the world.

The common denominator for all the contributing artists – which include Brazilian installation artist Henrique Oliveira, British puppet-maker Andy Gent and Danish scriptwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson – is that their art in one way or another is associated with the art of Hans Christian Andersen.

Henrik Lübker, creative director of H.C. Andersen’s House, said: "We've identified artists that correspond with Andersen’s universe and its core values.

"In that sense, the ambition has been to create art, which exists on its own terms, while simultaneously fitting into the overall project: Creating an H.C. Andersen’s House in which landscape, architecture, exhibitions, design and art all melt together to form a coherent experience.

"The audience can expect to go on a journey and enter into a world in which humor and play are at least as important as answers and truth.

"They experience a world in which you step into surrealistic game shows or get thrown around by the elements as if you were a tin soldier. A world where you are at the bottom of the ocean looking up, looking out, at a different world as a little mermaid or endure the same terrible things the ugly duckling had to.

"The audience can expect a world that is for all ages and times. For families and the individual."

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