Great Northern

Photographed by:

Kirstine Mengel

Brief description

The new golf course, Great Northern, is situated at the city of Kerteminde between the rolling countryside of the north eastern part of the Danish island, Funen. The project Great Northern is designed by E+N Arkitektur and covers a club house and hotel apartments and is created based on the connection between the landscape and the design of the golf course. All buildings are executed in a cohesive concept of unyielding design where the unique, hovering roof construction adds to the distinctive characteristics of the project. The roof construction finds its inspirations in the Japanese art of folding paper and in historical timber design. Together they give the building its visible construction of a fan, which is expressed in both the buildings’ exterior and interior. The roof construction is particularly unique. The folded roof practically hovers over the natural stone walls. The triangular parts of the roof are used as a stabilizer and only a few pillars of steel carry the construction of the timber “fan”. The sophisticated structure of the fan “folds” in varying heights over the restaurant and climaxes over the big community room. Between the roof and the hilly terrain, big windows form the facade with heights up to 8 meters. This contributes to the sense of accessibility between inside and outside. The project originates in the context of the area and is shaped in close relation to the landscape’s distinctive characteristics. The buildings are carefully positioned to catch the unique nature and to give the experience of both a strictly controlled view and the vast, impressive vistas of Funen’s rolling countryside. The buildings’ design and location provide dramatic and poetic experiences of the nature of the landscape.