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.
Noma 2.0 designed by Studio David Thulstrup is located near Christiania on a historic site next to a lake that was once part of Copenhagen’s ancient fortifications. An existing concrete building that had been used for munition storage was turned into prep kitchens, fermentation lab and staff rooms. Bjarke Ingels’s BIG designed a complex of 11 new buildings for the restaurant, test kitchen and greenhouses. Clustered like classic Norwegian farm buildings they will eventually be surrounded by trees and plants with expansive views of the lake. Studio David Thulstrup designed the interiors to be true to the structure, echoing the external materials and with an honest, simple and modern feel.
The design concept emphasises a playful approach to materials – oak, brick, steel, concrete and tombac. Each building is made of one material and has a sole purpose, for example the dining room, entrance, lounge or private dining room. They’re expressive individually but make a more powerful statement grouped together. Noma 2.0 chef and co-owner René Redzepi calls the seven buildings comprising the restaurant the “Village”.