Danish oak lines almost every surface at chef René Redzepi’s new Noma location.
For the new incarnation of his award-winning Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, which goes by the moniker Noma 2.0, chef and co-owner René Redzepi wanted to create something akin to a home. Local firm Bjarke Ingels Group was in charge of the overall design for the cluster of buildings, set village-like on a striking location near the famous autonomous neighbourhood of Christiania. On first impression, BIG has abandoned its trademark diagrammatic design approach in favour of a gentler, more perceptive one. But in reality, the one who transformed the seven-building addition to a protected former military warehouse into Redzepi’s desired “home” was David Thulstrup, brought aboard to handle the interiors. A rising architecture star, he is known for his aesthetic blending modern simplicity with traditional techniques and rich materiality.
In Noma 2.0’s private dining room, designer David Thulstrup used Douglas pine planks to create the statement-making ceiling.
To pull the task off, Thulstrup relied on a considered application of honest, natural materials – namely a mix of wood, stone and metal – to instill a warm atmosphere that leans more toward residential than restaurant. As a result, Dinesen oak planks line nearly every wall, ceiling and floor, low-slung windows frame views of the surroundings (including Ingels’ latest contribution to his hometown’s skyline: the ski slope power plant opening this year) and, in the lounge room, cream-coloured brick anchors floating open planes and a horizontality reminiscent of the private houses the Danish architects of the mid-century golden age designed for themselves. While the cozy, domestic feeling permeates the entire restaurant, whose main space seats 42, it’s especially strong in the private dining room, where a six-metre-long smoked-oak table and Arv chairs, all custom-designed by Thulstrup for Noma, sit beneath an articulated ceiling made of Douglas pine planks also by Dinesen. Arv, a word that can be translated as “heritage,” features familiar Danish lines but with a contemporary look – a description that could also apply to the interior of the visionary restaurant’s second life.
This story was taken from the March/April 2019 issue of Azure. Buy a copy of the issue here, or subscribe here.
