Concert Hall Park, Aarhus

Concert Hall Park
Musikhusparken
Type Urban park
Location Aarhus, Denmark
Area 17.500 m2
Created 1980
Owned by Aarhus Municipality

The Concert Hall Park (Danish: Musikhusparken or Musikhushaven) is a public park in central Aarhus, Denmark. The park is situated by the City Hall in the Indre By neighborhood in Midtbyen, along the street Frederiks Allé to the east, Thomas Jensen's Allé to the south and Vester Allé to the north, behind the remaining buildings of the former Vester Allés Barracks. The park is named for the Aarhus Concert Hall which is prominently situated on its western border. The park forms a center-point between some of the most prominent buildings in the city, the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Vester Allé Barracks, the concert hall and Aarhus City Hall in view behind the City Hall Park across Frederiks Allé. The park was designed by the landscape architect Sven Hansen and was established in the 1980s.[1][2]

The Concert Hall Park is situated on the site of the former Vester Allé Barracks and is divided in two main parts. The section between Frederiks Allé and the Concert Hall is designed as a parterre garden. The northern section between the art museum and the concert hall is a steep slope where an amphitheatre has been established. The Concert and City Hall Parks are very close but have very different designs. Whereas the City Hall Park express the functionalism with winding paths, dense growth and boulevards the Concert Hall Park has an ordered, tight expression with straight paths, cropped hedges and diagonal axis' mirroring military discipline and order. In the central areas where paths join there are a number of fountains and benches.[1]

The Concert Hall is used for the SPoT Festival, Aarhus Festuge and various exhibitions and concerts. The amphitheatre can host 5-6000 people depending on setup.[3]

Sculptures

The park has a number of sculptures. The best known may be "Hvalikopteren" (Whalechopper) which Queen Margrethe dubbed "Humpback Gunship" when she saw it for the first time. The sculpture is formed as a metal whale with a helicopter rotor, designed by the Australian artist Benjamin Gilberts]] for the Danish version of Sculpture by the Sea.[4][5]

The Danish sculptor Gudrun Steen-Andersen is represented with the bronze sculpture Vokseværk (Growth Pains) from 1989. It is a naturalistic interpretation of young boy placed by the large mirror-pool in front of the concert hall. Gudrun Steen-Andersen's own son modeled for the sculpture and today he teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg inside the concert hall.[6] Ejler Bille created the abstract sculpture Saurion which is placed in front of the main entrance to the concert hall. Erik Varming designed and donated an abstract sculpture carved from granite, situated behind the amphitheatre. Anker Hoffman created l'etude or "sitting girl in bronze" which was donated by the bank Sparekassen SDS to the mayor of Aarhus, Orla Hyllested.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Parkerne ved Rådhuset og Musikhuset" (in Danish). Aarhus Municipality. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Musikhushaven" (in Danish). Aarhus Municipality. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Skematisk opstilling" (PDF) (in Danish). Aarhus Municipality. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ny skulptur i Moelleparken" (in Danish). Aarhus Municipality. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Hvalikopteren flyveklar" (in Danish). Århus Stiftstidende. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Growth Pains" (in Danish). Gudrun Steen-Andersen. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Kunstskatte" (in Danish). Musikhuset Aarhus. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 9 March 2016.

Coordinates: 56°09′09″N 10°12′01″E / 56.1526°N 10.2003°E / 56.1526; 10.2003

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