Azure – March 2019

MAR/APR 2019_ _ 045

Focus

Interior Wood

In Noma 2.0’s private

dining room, designer

David Thulstrup used

Douglas pine planks to

create the statement-

making ceiling.

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

DANISH OAK LINES ALMOST EVERY

SURFACE AT CHEF RENÉ REDZEPI’S

NEW NOMA LOCATION

WORDS _Daniel Golling

PHOTOGRAPH _Rasmus Hjortshøj

Plank

Heaven

Fresh takes on a traditional material

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.

To pull the task off, Thulstrup relied on a consid-

ered 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. studiodavidthulstrup.com

EDITOR _Kendra Jackson