Thomas B. Thriges Gade

For 50 years, the four-lane street Thomas B. Thriges Gade cut Odense’s oldest district in two. 25,000 cars a day created an effective barrier to the development of urban life in the heart of Odense.

In collaboration with the Municipality of Odense and philanthropic association Realdania as the developer, 300 of our engineering experts , landscape architects and urban planners have participated in transforming Thomas B. Thriges Gade into a green and cohesive, car-free district with new squares and urban spaces.

The area comprises four new neighbourhoods and eight new urban spaces. The unifying identity of the district is a green and lush landscape – on buildings, roofs, balconies and in the urban public spaces of the city. Added to this is the light rail system, which winds through the district connecting the new residential areas.

Once upon a time there was a four-lane thoroughfare. After an almost fairytale-like transformation, Thomas B. Thriges Gade is today a vibrant and beautiful district that the Municipality of Odense and the city’s citizens are proud of – and pleased with.

Iconic underground car park ensures easy accessibility

As part of the project, the old road and tunnel structures in the area have been given new value-adding functions. The Thomas B. Thriges Gade tunnel, which previously led two of the four lanes under Øster Stationvej, today leads down to a car park with more than 1,000 parking spaces. The parking facilities ensure accessibility for citizens and visitors, while keeping the overground urban spaces free of through traffic.

The underground car park has been constructed with a beautiful skylight and a distinctive yellow design. More than 20 staircase towers make it easy to reach the city centre, with direct access to the Odeon music, theatre and conference centre and the new Hans Christian Andersen House.

Focus on pedestrians, cyclists and public transport

The many new urban spaces provide room for play and activity, but also tranquility and presence. The design supports walking and cycling via the new bicycle superhighway from north to south, while buses and the new light rail system are prioritised over cars.

Urban landscape oases

The urban landscape surprises with oases of green urban spaces – not least the Rose Garden in the Hans Christian Andersen Quarter, which, with its wide range of plants and flowers, is a fairytale spot at the heart of the city.  In the southern urban spaces, the natural surroundings of the Odense Å river have been extended to the city centre with plants in Albani Torv square.

One of the main objectives of the project has been to reconnect the old districts through architecture, street passages, materials and clinker brick colours. Odense has its own special clinker brick type, which has been used in different variations throughout the area. Our landscape architects have worked with red and dark shades and different road surface patterns to signal whether pedestrians or cyclists have priority.

Rainwater management

Green roofs and local solutions in the terrain are used for rainwater management. For example, in connection with extreme weather events, the sunken cycle paths will drain rainwater to the Rose Garden, where the water is gathered in a fascine with overflow.

Thomas B. Thriges Gade awarded Æreskalejdoskopet 2020

In 2020, the Danish Association of Architects awarded the Municipality of Odense the ‘Æreskalejdoskopet’ – a developer prize for an outstanding urban development project.