A hybrid space for hospitality and human connection
Scroll on
A hybrid space for hospitality and human connection
In Nordhavn, Copenhagen’s old industrial harbor, a neo-baroque building from the early 20th Century has been given new life. The Audo, as it is now known, celebrates and facilitates human connection in the global digital age. Bjarne Hansen, founder of Danish design company MENU, and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, co-founder of the Norm Architects, conceived The Audo as a hybrid space, a platform for bringing local and international creatives together over a drink, a meal, a project or simply a shared aesthetic experience.
The Audo platform encompasses a restaurant, a cafe, co-working and event spaces, a concept store and more. But international visitors will most appreciate it as a one-of-a-kind hotel, each of its ten rooms individually designed in the warm, “soft minimalism” style for which Norm Architects is renowned. The subtle, sophisticated aesthetic continues in the bathrooms, where Norm have selected AXOR Uno for the mixers. One bathtub even features a customized AXOR Signature application by which a floor-standing AXOR Uno bath spout was converted into a perfectly sized rim-mounted bath spout. In all cases, Norm have taken full advantage of the AXOR FinishPlus range of surfaces.
Through choice of material and palette, each hotel room evokes a different mood, a different landscape. AXOR Uno harmonizes with all of them, whether in Brushed Black Chrome for a ‘lunar’ ambience or in Brushed Bronze for a ‘deep forest’ atmosphere. Other finishes include Brushed Brass and Stainless Steel Optic. In addition to AXOR Uno, the rooms are equipped with AXOR Showers products such as the overhead shower 350, which offers the cocooning PowderRain spray type. The penthouse rooms feature lavish shower products such as the AXOR ShowerHeaven. Downstairs, the kitchen boasts AXOR Citterio kitchen mixers in the eye-catching semi-pro variant.
“Danish architects tend to use the same local brand, and I thought it would be interesting to trying something different,” explains Hansen their decision for AXOR, whose MENU has become a global force in contemporary design. “It was very much a collaboration,” adds Bjerre-Poulsen, “and we were delighted by all of the wonderful finishes AXOR had to offer. We wanted a different material and color palette for each floor and each room. It happened just naturally that there were different finishes that complimented each universe. I think AXOR got the finishes just right in terms of tonality and surface, which is a really hard thing to do.”
By blurring the boundaries between work, store, home and hospitality, The Audo fosters a new kind of creative exchange, of which AXOR is very much a part. The approach is nicely summed up by the Latin expression from which The Audo derives its name: Ab Uno Disce Omnes. From one, learn all.
Trusted partners