Finding a Local Flavour at Copenhagen’s The Audo

The Danes are reportedly some of the happiest people on the planet. Maybe it’s because they make a point of prioritising the simple pleasures in life — the great outdoors, wholesome food, meaningful human interaction, culture, and design that feeds the soul. In this context, The Audo makes perfect sense: it’s the Danish capital’s newest boutique hotel, but it’s much more than that, encompassing a cafe and restaurant, event space, carefully curated retail store, material library and an office for the team behind the concept

The brainchild of Bjarne Hansen, founder of Danish furniture brand menu, and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, co-founder of Copenhagen’s Norm Architects, The Audo remained an idea until the current location enabled its realisation. Situated in the Nordhavn neighbourhood, the city’s former industrial harbour, the renovated neo-Baroque building dates back to 1918 and is one of the oldest buildings in the area.

The hotel’s name is derived from an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ab uno disce omnes, meaning ‘from one, learn all’, and reflects the founders’ desire to nurture a sense of community and collaboration. It all sounds very romantic, admits menu’s brand and design director Joachim Kornbek, but it’s been the guiding philosophy from the outset. The decision to collaborate with Norm Architects on the design came easily; the two companies have been kindred spirits since their inceptions.

What lay behind the historic facade was an updated and surprisingly modernist plan, explains Peter Eland, an architect and partner at Norm Architects, adding that the merging of different elements within the building was very much in line with the overall concept. The exterior shell has benefited from a face lift, a new layer of render and, where possible, openings enlarged with new industrial-looking window frames in a nod to the precinct’s history.

Inside, voluminous ground-level spaces still feel warm and welcoming thanks to Norm Architects’ ‘soft minimalist’ design, a term the studio coined to explain its approach. While haptics is at the core of this philosophy, it’s appealing on many levels. A palette of natural, tactile materials — oak, stone, linen and leather abound — invite one to touch and caress every surface, but other senses are anything but neglected. Transitioning through the interconnected spaces, lower ceilings and a change of materials signal the entrance to more private spaces, where the colour palette is expanded — and varies in each guestroom — and spaces become what Eland describes as ‘cosier, warmer and more domestic’.

In a boutique hotel, a sense of domesticity allows guests the opportunity to feel at home by making the hotel their home, even just briefly. It’s this feeling of being part of the local community that transports you from your everyday life; it can’t be replicated by armchair travelling — and maybe it wouldn’t hurt for us all to try and do as the Danes do every now and then.

Text / Suzy Annetta
Images / Courtesy of The Audo