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HOUSE OF NIMB, TIVOLI
Project category: Restaurant
Furniture: CH24 lounge chair oak/oil/brown leather cushions & CH24 lounge chair black/black leather cushions by Hans J. Wegner
Location: Tivoli, Bernstorffsgade 5, 1577 Copenhagen V
Architect: René Jasper Thomsen
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PROJECT
Of all Tivoli's famous restaurants, Nimb is the most spectacular. The building, which today contains a number of restaurants and bars, was erected in 1909 in Arabian-inspired style, and designed by Tivoli's architect and director at the time, Arne Knudsen. The name Nimb belonged to an enterprising Copenhagen dynasty which operated several eateries in Tivoli for many years, including Nimb in Bernstorffsgade. In 2008, a new chapter commenced in Nimb's history. Following extensive renovation, the popular building opened its doors to a handful of gourmet restaurants and a five-star boutique hotel (on the Condé Nast Traveller list of the 50 best hotels in the world)
With architect and the then Director René Jasper Thomsen at the helm, the Nimb building was refurbished in 2009, and various new restaurants and bars were established: "One of the key aims in my interior design projects is for the interiors to last for many years in terms of style and quality. I also think that a new restaurant shouldn't look brand-new. There should ideally be built-in patinas in the form of surfaces and materials that looked used, but not worn, from the outset," explains René Jasper Thomsen.
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LAYOUT & FURNISHINGS
A pleasant and warm atmosphere has been created in Nimb's basement restaurant, Vinoteket, by the combination of lighting, materials and colors. The floor is covered with hard-fired tiles which shimmer with red and brown hues. The bookshelves, benches and rugged tables are made of solid oak. The ceiling's brick vault has been painted white. The downward directed ceiling lighting is supplemented by candles in glass cases, in lanterns on the walls and in wrought iron candlesticks. Diners sit at the three centrally positioned tables in Wishbone Chairs with brown leather cushions. There are 60 chairs in all, and they look as if they have always stood there. The Wishbone Chairs are made of oak, which patinates beautifully with the years. Their organic curved shape adds a refined, organic softness to the masculine room. The '24-hour room' is what people in Nimb call the beautiful and stylish room on the first floor, as it is used for everything – from breakfast, lunch and dinner to meetings and small receptions.
The room offers a beautiful view over Tivoli, and derives its slightly oriental atmosphere from the windows' arched shape, which is echoed in the painted white mirrors on the wall. The walls and ceiling are also painted white, and the floor is covered with light pine planks. The contrast in the room is created by the furniture: a simple rectangular piano-black lacquered table and accompanying black painted Wishbone Chairs with natural weave and black leather cushions.
ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER RENÉ JASPER THOMSEN COMMENTS ON THE CHOICE OF CH24:
"I wanted a Scandinavian flavor in Nimb, making furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner an obvious choice. I also deliberately use furniture from CHS to raise the level of an interior. There are always budget considerations, and it is much easier to use other, slightly cheaper elements and furniture, when they are mixed with pieces like the Wishbone Chair – which adds precisely the quality to Nimb that we were looking for."
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