Skagenhallen will be a multifunctional centre that aims to provide young people with extracurricular activities and counteract the negative trend in Skagen's population. The current Skagen Culture and Leisure Centre will be renamed as part of the architectural overhaul.

The architectural concept for Skagenhallen is based on four fundamental ideas. Firstly, to create good extracurricular conditions for young people in education, thereby encouraging settlement. Secondly, to provide an attractive community setting where young people and citizens can meet across age groups. Thirdly, to reuse and energy-optimize the existing 1972 buildings, and fourthly, to create a new, cohesive building with significant architectural upgrade.

Søren Tortzen, the head of C.F. Møller Architects in Aalborg, explains that all the functions of the building will be spatially and visually connected, both internally and externally through a unified facade material. The extension will fit into the existing building volume and scale and will use wood in the supporting structures. The traditional red bricks used to construct the original building will be reinterpreted by using so-called brick baguettes as a facade material, screening, railings, and sunshades, allowing for a modern design with rounded corners and organic shapes.

The new Skagenhallen will serve as the city's multifunctional cultural centre and a modern beacon for the area. It will be located in relation to the area's cultural axis, which stretches between Skagen harbour, the city centre, and other nearby cultural destinations. The building supports five selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on creating well-functioning communities, countering negative population trends in Skagen, future-proofing existing buildings, and using materials with a focus on operation and maintenance, low carbon emissions, and circular design for disassembly.
C.F. Møller Architects will present the Skagenhallen project to the city's citizens, users, non-users, and businesses in a workshop called Snapshot 2028, where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and help shape the building. The workshop will take place on 18 April.

The presentation of the Skagenhallen project follows a similar commission for C.F. Møller Architects in Grenaa, where the firm is working on a comprehensive revision of the Pavillonen cultural centre to give it a coherent architectural expression and better facilities for users, citizens, and tourists.

The client for the Skagenhallen project is Skagen Kultur- og Fritidscenter.

About Skagen
Skagen is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland. The Port of Skagen is Denmark's main fishing port and it also has a thriving tourist industry, attracting 2 million people annually.

The name was applied originally to the peninsula but it now also refers to the town. The settlement began during the Middle Ages as a fishing village, renowned for its herring industry. Thanks to its seascapes, fishermen and evening light, towards the end of the 19th century it became popular with a group of impressionist artists now known as the Skagen Painters. During the early 1910s, Christian X and Queen Alexandrine often visited Skagen and brought friends from other European monarchies. They built a summer residence, Klitgaarden, completed in 1914.

Between the 1930s and 1950s the town grew rapidly, with the population more than doubling from 4,048 in 1930 to 9,009 in 1955. Skagen reached a maximum population of 14,050 in 1980, after which it gradually declined. As of 1 January 2020, it has a population of 7,845. Thanks to the artistic community that remains in Skagen, the local arts and crafts trade remains important to the income of the town with its numerous crafts shops and galleries.

Source: Wikipedia: Skagen - Wikipedia