The Audo Hotel In Copenhagen - A New Creative Residence by MENU
It may be five months since my first look at The Audo, Copenhagen's newest hotel to launch, but I already can't wait to return.
Imagine, if you will, a hybrid boutique hotel and restaurant combined with a concept store, co-working space and cafe. A collaborative residence where Nordic design, hospitality and contemporary art converge.
The result is a collaboration between former CEO of MENU, Bjarne Hansen, and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects. As you might be able to tell, this is no ordinary hotel experience.
Forty years ago when Hansen founded MENU, he had a vision of a living, ever-evolving space in which the brand's portfolio of furniture would sit within a real-life situation. Today, MENU's brand new HQ shares the first floor with a library and coworking space.
Taking its name from an acronym of the Latin Ab Uno Disce Omnes, meaning 'From one, learn all', The Audo is a reflection of the way in which we use spaces as multi-functional, ever-evolving hubs. This is a place to commune, collaborate and create.
Blurring the lines between home and work, and uniting design, business and community in one innovative, physical space under constant renewal, The Audo is an experiential, sensorial residence where products from the world’s premium design brands will engage in dialogueDanny Feltmann Espersen, MENU CEO
The building is a breathtaking example of how heritage and architecture blend seamlessly with a contemporary aesthetic. Located in Copenhagen's new waterfront district of Nordhavn, it started life in 1918 as a boathouse and Neo-Baroque residence and was originally the headquarters of The Russian Trading Co Ltd.
With creative direction overseen by Kinfolk magazine's Nathan Williams, every part of the experience has been considered in meticulous detail.
The interiors are a feast for the senses. Converted in a minimalist, Scandinavian style, the industrial roots of the building are ever-present through the use of polished concrete floors, black metal framed windows and perforated black metal ceilings.
Original partitioning walls were knocked through to create one large open plan ground floor, featuring the concept store, cafe and restaurant space.
Sumptuously upholstered Tearoom Club Chairs and Eave modular sofas in bouclé sit alongside black veined, white marble plinths and coffee tables. Abstract works of art and sculpture created by artists such as Benjamin Ewing, Sofia Tufvasson and Nicholas Shurey on display can also be bought from the concept store, alongside products from other collaborating brands.
A wide amphitheatre style staircase leads you up to a library and workspace on the 1st floor where lifts await to residents up to the rooms.
A celebration of rich and earthy neutrals, 10 loft-style bedrooms make up the boutique hotel on the top floor. With names like Foliage, Red Clay and Cliffs, you get a sense of how nature has directed the interiors.
Each room has its own identity with en-suite bathroom, featuring Dinesen floors, textured plaster walls by St Leo and luxury beds designed by Dux. These spaces are warm and intimate, moving away from the industrial feel of the ground floor and closer to the building's history with original timber beams in the ceiling.
Rooms start from £320 a night, complete with goose down duvets from Quilts of Denmark, organic Tekla bathrobes and Aesop toiletries. It's an absolute design lover's joy to experience what feels like a fresh take on Scandinavian living. I can't wait to see how The Audo will reinvent itself in the coming years.
The Audo | Århusgade 130 | 2150 Copenhagen | Denmark
Photography © Tiffany Grant-Riley