The municipality of Aarhus has initiated several projects and initiatives leading towards the possibility of Aarhus being European Capital of Culture in 2017. These projects cover both urban development as well as cultural projects, and will contribute to Aarhus’ cultural life, business environment, and to the general public.
One of the projects that has a special focus on the urban development of the city include the building of a new part of the city by the harbour – an ideal spot that combines the historic city centre with a new public and recreational part of central waterfront.
The project will combine sublime architectural design with a recreational and inspiring functionality encompassing 7000 new residents – a mix of both owner-occupied houses and rented housing that ensures diversity in the population. 12000 new workplaces will find its way as well as a new innovations- and education centres. The project has an estimated value of 226 million euro.
The building of the new Multimedia house – the most ambitious in the Nordic countries – that will become an icon for Aarhus as a modern city of knowledge with an international outlook is planned to be ready for use in the beginning of 2015.
The modern Multimedia house will be placed near the new part of the city in the harbour and will replace the old main library and contain the newest forms of media and information technology as well as functioning as citizen service centre and having a variety of networks and collaborators. The Multimedia house will become a natural meeting spot where the citizens will have the possibility to experience, learn new things as well as quiet contemplation – both for adults and children.
Another ambitious project in Aarhus is the renewal of the old freight yard situated near the city centre. The vision for this attractive area is to transform it into a modern part of the city with a rich creative and cultural atmosphere.
A modern production centre for visual arts, stage arts and literature is to be built as well as giving these areas improved and professional production areas to facilitate the conditions for the development, research, production and learning environments just to name a few. This project is part of the vision to make Aarhus a more likely candidate as European Capital of Culture in 2017 – facilitating the working conditions for the cultural environments.