Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Following a large-scale, comprehensive renovation, Normann Copenhagen is opening the doors of its spectacular new showroom. The Danish design company’s new headquarters appears as an experimental, artistic universe in brushed steel, lively terrazzo, and eye-popping colour combinations.
For just over a month the doors to Normann Copenhagen’s flagship store in Copenhagen have been covered with a mysterious pink foil. Behind the scenes, work has been going on at a feverish pace to create a new base for Normann Copenhagen – an extraordinary, world-class showroom.
The new combined flagship store and showroom presents an exclusive and bold design concept that captures the essence of the Normann Copenhagen brand. A conceptual, theatrical universe gives the showroom the character of an art exhibition, where everything is carefully curated and nothing is left to chance.
“We want to give visitors the feeling they’re moving around in an art installation. We’ve played with the contrast between warm and cold in a contemporary interior environment that pays homage to premises that are very worthy of preservation,” says designer Hans Hornemann, who in cooperation with Normann Copenhagen’s Brand Manager, Britt Bonnesen, developed the concept and design of the new showroom.
The style is raw and industrial, with a contrasting blend of materials. Epoxy, steel, reflective glass and coloured acrylic meet more organic elements like plush rugs and shimmering terrazzo. The old cinema’s original classical details have been carefully restored, and stucco work and bas reliefs create a beautiful contrast to an emerald green ceiling and oyster grey walls.
A voyage of discovery through zones
The showroom is divided into four different zones: Hall, Stage, Ballroom and Gallery, which take the visitor on an inspiring journey of discovery through the Normann Copenhagen universe.
In the long foyer, a 20 meter-long Rope sofa stretches across the entire length of the hall. From rich golden hues on top of clear coral to deep wine-red, the sprawling sofa stands in a plush, warm contrast to the steel-clad hall. Beneath rows of fluorescent lamps, the intriguing tunnel leads to the stage, which connects the hall with the grand ballroom.
On the stage, you can lose yourself in the dreamy powder-blue Daily Fiction universe and hand-pluck shimmering notebooks and velour-clad pencils in a veritable candy store stocked full of irresistible odds and ends. Here you’ll also find the new materials library, where with helpful assistance from the staff, you can figure out exactly what colour that new dining chair or Krenit bowl should be. A magnificent light fixture with 160 Amp lamps in marble and glass shines brightly above a colourful exhibit of furniture and accessories, and if you venture further down the terrazzo-covered steps to the grand ballroom, more dynamic exhibits await your exploration.
“The old cinema salon is an imposing room, and it was important for us to preserve the feeling of space and its exalted atmosphere. At the same time, we wanted to create more intimate environments for you to explore. To create a sense of space in the salon, we worked with movable elements, such as podiums and walls, which can be combined into environments with different expression and flow,” explains Hans Hornemann.
Pure pink pandemonium
In the middle of the salon, a metal shaft leads down to the Gallery. Stairs covered in plush, pink carpet provide a small hint of what awaits in the depths below, and at the end of the shaft, you’re surrounded by an explosion of pink. A nude Swell sofa stands with its voluminous design features, almost like a fleshy organism in the subterranean space, where everything is bathed in hues of pink. There’s both an enticing femininity and repellent bodily innards about this first edition of the Gallery, which is designed to be an unpredictable and transformative space where anything and everything can happen.
The Gallery’s pink universe is permeated with a sensuous sound picture. Danish instructor and artist Nina Holmgren has created the site-specific composition Fresh fools in a pool of pink salty tears – an abstract narrative that bathes the room in an intermezzo of aquatic sounds and fragments of stories. Aside from the composition, Nina Holmgren breathes life into the showroom with a series of curated playlists, which like old-school mix tapes, represent a carefully chosen selection of music dedicated to Normann Copenhagen.
A smooth and complete experience
The experience at Normann Copenhagen’s showroom isn’t defined exclusively by the design concept, but also by the enormous amount of detail that permeates everything from the moment you step into the reception area to when you finally leave with your furniture.
The company has worked on enhancing the coherence between the brick-and-mortar store and the online shop, so the shopping experience is optimised into a fluid, efficient process. With the mobile checkout, you can make your purchase while sitting comfortably in the chair you’re about to order. And there’s no longer any need to pick it up at the store – it can be delivered right to your door.
With over 40,000 possible combinations for a Form chair, it can be challenging to visualise exactly which style, fabric and legs can be combined to create your dream chair. A new online product customizer shows all the combinations, whether you’re buying from home or in the showroom. Need some time to think it over? Get the sales associate’s business card and get in touch when you’re ready to make a purchase. Personal service is a top priority and the goal is crystal clear: The Normann Copenhagen showroom should be a place where you want to linger and where you leave bubbling with inspiration.
Curated exhibits blending fashion with interior design
At its grand opening in 2005, Normann Copenhagen’s flagship store distinguished itself as one of the very first Danish stores embracing the lifestyle concept and blending product categories. Since then, the business has undergone rapid development, and the collection has grown in size to where the 1700 m2 Copenhagen showroom can easily be filled up with the company’s own designs. You can still find clothing and accessories at Normann Copenhagen, but fashion takes on a new role.
“Fashion is a huge source of inspiration for us. Therefore, it makes sense to preserve the mix of fashion and interior design, which will be even more integrated than before. We’re going to select the pieces in a different way, where it’s perhaps not as important that we have a certain number of coats to choose from this season, but that we carry styles that make a bold statement and suit the trends we believe in,” explains Britt Bonnesen.
For the new concept, interior design and fashion intermingle in awe-inspiring curated exhibits, from opulent and eclectic ensembles to stark, minimalistic tableaus, where the individual designs emerge as centrepieces. The exhibits will change regularly and display selected parts of the collection in new, inspiring constellations.
“The showroom will offer bold compositions and extravagant showpieces, such as lounge chairs covered in wild, exclusive fabrics. You can obviously order the exact same chair, but you can also merely let yourself be inspired by colours and moods. Coming here should be an experience,” concludes Britt Bonnesen.
Normann Copenhagen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen
Photographer: Jeppe Sorensen