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  • COPENHAGEN EUROPE CENTRE

    Project category: Restaurant

    Furniture: CH20 Elbow Chair oak/white oil/Loke 7140 (brown leather) by Hans J. Wegner

    Location: Vesterbrogade 149, 1620 Copenhagen V, Denmark

    Architect: Designcraft by Steenstrup & Hvidt

  • PROJECT

    Copenhagen Europe Centre is a center for office rental in Vesterbro, Copenhagen, owned and managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Denmark A/S. The center is housed in the buildings on the corner of Vesterbrogade and Rahbæks Allé where the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory, founded in 1853, produced its world-famous porcelain. This means the new center is framed in a setting of special significance to the history of Danish trade and industry. The center layout has been governed by the existing architecture, preserving the different building sizes. 

    All tenants have access to a number of common facilities, which previously included a canteen with a lunch service. However, the canteen did not fully meet the standards of the rest of the center, so the decision was made to refurbish and convert the canteen into a restaurant.  The Designcraft design company, comprising interior designers, Henriette Steenstrup and Karin Hvidt Kastholm, were commissioned for the task. The result is the attractive 'Restaurant Bing & G', which opened in 2014. Restaurant Bing & G currently seats 150 diners, but following a planned expansion in the near future, 202 people will be able to eat there. 

  • LAYOUT & FURNISHINGS

    Henriette Steenstrup and Karin Hvidt Kastholm quickly decided that the existing fairly clinical interior, characterized by steel, needed an injection of warmth with other colors and natural materials in order to attain the desired atmosphere. "It was also important to introduce a Scandinavian mood, which seems appropriate for the site," explains Henriette Steenstrup.

    The rectangular room has large windows all along one side, with a view of an ivy-covered trellis. The walls are painted in white, putty and gray-brown hues, and the floor is covered with square marble tiles in a light shade. "It was essential to introduce wood into the room, and we therefore designed and installed an acoustic oak slat ceiling, which has also addressed the room's lighting problems," explains Henriette Steenstrup. The furniture constitutes the restaurant's other prominent wood element. Diners eat at simple oak tables with a stringent form and accompanying oak CH20 chairs. In remembrance of the site's fascinating history, the architects unearthed old photographs from the factory's porcelain production years, which now decorate the walls.  Bing & Grøndahl's famous Three Tower logo from 1898 has also been enlarged and now adorns the rear wall of the restaurant. 

    INTERIOR DESIGNER HENRIETTE STEENSTRUP OF DESIGNCRAFT COMMENTS ON THE CHOICE OF CH20:

    "We chose the Elbow Chair, CH20, in consultation with our client for a number of reasons: The chair has excellent seating comfort and exactly the Scandinavian expression we were looking for. It is beautiful standing alone, and beautiful in a group setting. Finally, it is made with such quality that it will not need to be replaced. It can handle being used for countless years to come..."

    Go to product page CH20 Elbow Chair