On 19 May the Strategy- and Concept Group for Mediaspace went on a study tour to Nicolai in Kolding and Alsion in Sønderborg.

Nicolai

Nicolai in Kolding is a cultural complex with a variety of offers for children and adults. It consists of five buildings and is centrally located in Kolding. In building number one you find Cinema & Café, where they primarily show art cinema films. The top floor houses TV-Kolding, the local TV-station. A growth environment for designers and artists with workshops and exhibition rooms has been established in Nicolai Art & Design.

Nicolai Stage is a concert hall which is especially well suited for classical music. The hall is permanent practice room for a number of choirs and provides the setting for among other things concerts and lectures. Nicolai History houses Kolding’s City Archive, while Nicolai for Children is the place for children with cultural offers – theatre, concerts and much more – especially for children.

Alsion

Following the visit at Nicolai, we headed further south to Sønderborg to see Alsion. Alsion is Southern Jutland’s new knowledge and culture centre, where education, research and culture is housed in one building. The area of the building is 28,428 m2.

Alsion houses University of Southern Denmark; a private research park; one of Europe’s top acoustic concert halls for classical music, which is the home of Southern Jutland’s Symphony Orchestra; train ticket sales, with kiosk and café. Like Nicolai in Kolding, the centre contains several of the functions and offers which will be part of Mediaspace in Aarhus. Alsion’s wonderful location by the water was another reason to visit, as that could provide inspiration for the construction of the waterfront spaces.