Youth culture takes centre stage in Ringe

In Ringe town centre, space has been created for a number of new cultural activities for children and young people. The range of activities on offer in the former hospital buildings are many. There is a café area as well as activities to do with literature, dance, music and the visual arts. Creativity can now flourish and unfold, and become part of life in the town.

Kulturzonen – the culture zone – is the name of the newly established cultural facilities for children and young people living in and around Ringe, a small town on Funen.

The name conveys the fact that this is not just a single building, but a larger facility. Kulturzonen comprises the town’s library, a parkour area and two older buildings housing the music school and a cultural centre. The movement room on the ground floor opens onto a small outdoor space, which can also be used. The former hospital buildings, which are now home to the music school and the cultural centre, date back to 1885 and 1913, respectively. Following the closure of the hospital, Kulturzonen is now a new venue for various activities which are particularly targeted at young people in the town.

Functional layout

The music school has been successfully renovated to provide good facilities for teaching with a range of different-sized rooms, all with good acoustics. The interiors are modern with bright colours and decorative notes. In an adjacent building, people dance the days away in the movement room, a well-proportioned space with a vaulted ceiling and where the beams have been used to install lighting and ventilation. Robust, black Troldtekt panels on one wall and on the ceilings ensure good acoustics for music, theatre and dance.

During the renovation, the emphasis was on improving the acoustics in the existing buildings. The music rooms therefore now feature effective sound insulation and reverberation times that meet modern standards. The raw look with exposed installations was a conscious decision on the part of the architect. Creative workshops have also been established in the same building, and from a charming top floor with a large window it is possible to look down on the activities taking place in the movement room. Next to the entrance there is a café area, where young people living in Ringe and users of the building can meet for coffee.