“Scandinavian without any Nordic clichés,” is how designer David Thulstrup describes the interiors of the newly reopened Noma restaurant in Copenhagen’s Christiania. Chef René Redzepi’s famed Michelin two-starred restaurant is now housed in a protected former military warehouse that was once used to store mines for the Royal Danish Navy. It’s been renovated by Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) into a series of seven small buildings inspired by those common to a traditional Danish farmstead. For the interiors, Redzepi called on Studio David Thulstrup, who collaborated with up-and-coming Nordic designers for custom furniture, and paneled the interior with Dinesen wood. With terrazzo floors made of river stones, hanging dried fish, jars of preserved and fermented foods, seaweed lighting, and bundles of kelp, the new look is distinctly Noma—but evolved. Here’s a look.
Photography by Anders Hviid, except where noted, all courtesy of Dinesen.
Above: The entrance to the restaurant is paneled in Dinesen Oak Natural with a brass accent wall. The custom terrazzo floor is made of large river stones, which, the designers say, can be felt when walking on the floor with bare feet. Above: BIG’s vision for the renovation consisted of creating seven small buildings inspired by those found in traditional Danish farmsteads. Housed in the buildings are a bakery, greenhouse, test kitchen, prep kitchen, staff room, fermentation room, and dining room. Above: Handmade bricks were designed custom for the space; they’re seen here on the walls and floor of the lounge area. Above: The lounge is designed with custom furniture from Thulstrup and designer Ragnhild Hjalmarsdóttir Højgaard, among Scandinavian classics. Above: The lounge is designed for dinner guests to relax following their meal; custom coffee tables hewn from stone are placed in front of a vegetable-tanned leather bench. Above: Another view of the lounge area. Above: The dining room is made entirely of end-grain wood, with Dinesen HeartOak wood floors made from trees up to 200 years old. The tables and chairs were specially designed for the restaurant by Thulstrup and Brdr. Krüger (the ARV Chair and ARV Table with paper cord backrests and seats by a local weaver who trained with Hans J. Wegner.
Above: The pendant lights above the tables are made of limestone by Jonas Edvard. Above: Redzepi in the new dining room. On the tables are glassware by artist Nina Nørgaard and ceramics by Christine Rudolph. Photograph by Jason Loucas, courtesy of Dinesen. Above: Pine beams salvaged from the Copenhagen harbor serve as waiter’s stations by Malte Gormsen. Dinesen GrandOak Natural planks separate the salvaged ones. Above: Dried sea creatures and fish skeletons line the walls. Photograph by Jason Loucas, courtesy of Dinesen.
Above: The private dining room is designed with Dinesen Douglas, a long oak table by Brdr. Krüger, and pendant lights made of a bio-composite pressed seaweed by Jonas Edvard. The room is designed to resemble Redzepi’s own home, with his collection of ceramics and cooking tools on display. (See Redzepi’s own kitchen in our post Steal This Look: A Star Chef’s Scandi Kitchen.) Above: Fish tanks and groupings of tableware in the cubby spaces of the 70-meter-long (about 230 feet) wooden cabinet and shelving system in Dinesen Douglas. Above: A prep area designed in Dinesen Oak Natural by Thulstrup and Maes Inox with ceramic pitchers by Christine Rudolph. Above: The restaurant, at Refshalevej 96, 1432, overlooks a pond in Copenhagen’s Christiania area, a self-governing community established in 1971. Photograph by Jason Loucas, courtesy of Dinesen.
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