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

Dedicated to the life of the celebrated author Hans Christian Andersen – famous for his fairytales, such as The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling – the US$62m visitor attraction ranges across indoor and outdoor spaces, both above and below ground.

The attraction is located on the site of Andersen’s childhood home, which first opened as a museum in 1908. As part of a nationwide initiative to expand the country’s cultural tourism offer, the City embarked on a project to transform the museum into a flagship tourist destination.

The attraction breaks new ground with its combination of location and the interpretation of the collection, with an immersive theatre bringing visitors to a new appreciation of Andersen’s creative output and celebrating his imagination.

Kuma says the building is the architectural interpretation of much-loved tale, The Tinderbox, in which a tree unveils an underground world which magically reveals new perspectives to the beholder.

“The idea behind the architectural design resembled Andersen’s method, where a small world suddenly expands to reveal a bigger universe,” Kuma told Dezeen.

H.C. Andersen House 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 a partnership between Event Communications and 12 selected artists from around the world.

The common denominator for the contributors – who include Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira, British puppet-maker Andy Gent and Danish scriptwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson – is that their work is inspired by the art of Hans Christian Andersen.

Creative director, Henrik Lübker, said: “We’ve identified artists who 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 also fitting into the overall project – Creating Hans Christian Andersen’s House in a way that melds together landscape, architecture, exhibitions, design and art to form a coherent experience.

“Visitors go on a journey and enter into a world in which humour and play are at least as important as answers and truth. They experience a world in which you step into surreal 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 if you were a Little Mermaid.

“The audience can expect a world that has been created for all ages and eras. For families and for the individual.”

More: www.hcandersenshus.dk