New York, April 2016 – On April 1st, 11 Howard, the newest hotel from Aby Rosen, opens with interiors and bespoke furniture and accessories by Danish design studio SPACE Copenhagen. Using enduring principles of Scandinavian design combined with boundary-breaking creative modernism, SPACE Copenhagen worked with Creative Director Anda Andrei to fill 11 Howard with beautiful materials and meticulously selected objects. 11 Howard is SPACE Copenhagen’s first project in New York, and the studio has infused it with both the DNA of Danish design traditions and the raw and industrial yet timeless nature of New York.
Founded in 2004 by Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rutzou, SPACE Copenhagen works across multiple disciplines from furniture, lighting, and refined objects, to art installations and art direction, to interior design for private homes, hotels, and restaurants.11 Howard reflects the ethos of the firm and boasts clear signatures of its past work: natural materials, dramatic clarity, and meticulous craftsmanship. The result is a visual language that makes every choice seem like it’s always belonged exactly where it is.
“We’re really interested in materials – stone, woods, leathers,” says SPACE Copenhagen Co-founder Signe Bindslev Henriksen. “We love things that age well. It’s part of our responsibility that a project lives on in a beautiful manner long after we’ve left.” Each of the 221 guest rooms is filled with custom pieces by SPACE Copenhagen that are handcrafted in Denmark. From its Fly Collection for &tradition, the pieces are made from luminous oiled oak shaped into a range of lounge furniture.
Rooms feature an art object, a plaster wall ceramic created by the artist Katie Yang, and a sensuous new lighting collection designed by SPACE Copenhagen exclusively for 11 Howard. The rooms are soft and inviting. Beautiful materials such as porcelain tile, marble countertops, and brass trimmings selected by SPACE Copenhagen line the in-room bathrooms.
SPACE Copenhagen designed 11 Howard to feel residential: more like a home than a hotel. Its furniture creates an atmosphere of ease and informality. The studio consciously crafted each space so that a sense of congruity between furniture and interior is felt throughout the hotel. “We build spaces that feel honest,” Rutzou says. “We create spatial expressions of a client’s creative profile, whether that’s a chef or hotelier or architect. Most importantly, everything we create revolves around the human factor. We’re always thinking about the impact space has on people.”
In 11 Howard’s bar, The Blond, the designers used dark woods and gold metals to create a seductive yet edgy environment. The fluid design allows for The Blond to be warm and welcoming for guests during the day, transform into an elegant bar space in the evening, and morph into a nightclub after midnight. Next to The Blond is The Library, which features furniture SPACE Copenhagen designed for manufacturers including Mater, Stellarworks, &Tradition, GUBI and Fredericia. These pieces are accented by wide wood floorboards, plush area rugs, and one-of-a-kind furniture commissioned by SPACE Copenhagen from around the world.
Space Copenhagen