The sleek silhouette of a cream Vilhelm Couch dreamt up by Danish designer Flemming Lassen in 1935. The clear tubular strains of linen pendant lights by Norm Architects. And throughout, partitions painted in heat shades of umber and in-between beige. To this point, so Copenhagen. But this immersive scene – a timeless contact of heritage modernism balanced with a smooth fashionable minimalism and natural palette – shouldn’t be in Denmark. As an alternative, it now greets guests arriving on the new Tokyo showroom of Audo Copenhagen.
The Danish firm steps into a brand new chapter this week, because it makes its debut in Japan. Audo’s new Tokyo outpost – its second worldwide location, after its longstanding TriBeCa showroom in New York – spans spans a 3rd flooring house within the Axis Constructing within the Roppongi district.
Audo Copenhagen lands in Tokyo
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
Audo Copenhagen, born final yr by the merging of two torchbearers of Danish modernism Menu and By Lassen, is a model rooted in balancing a century-old design heritage with a contemporary, modern perspective. This concord is mirrored by the brand new Tokyo house. Right here, a serene sequence of scenescapes gives a sensory immersion in Audo’s aesthetics, mirrored in a curation of furnishings, lighting and inside equipment.
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
The timeless class of the angular wooden and leather-based strains of the Seal Lounge Chair by Ib Kofod-Larsen sits alongside the sleek curves and quilted again of the long-lasting Radiohus Couch, initially designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen for Denmark’s Radio Home in 1936. Close by are a string of creations by Norm Architects, Audo’s longtime artistic companions, starting from its softly minimalist Eave Modular Couch (its versatile formation more likely to be well-liked in Japan’s comparatively small houses) to the clear marble strains of its sculptural Plinth Assortment.
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
A connective trace of Japan is sensed in Norm’s Hashira Assortment – a sequence of tubular lighting wrapped in linen, softly echoeing the play of sunshine and shadows within the supplies of conventional Japanese houses.
The textures of nature are additional evoked by ivory Gravel Rugs by Nina Bruun and partitions wrapped in earthy tones of St. Leo paints, alongside scatterings of crops and scented candles (Moist Ink, Midnight Soak, Chapter). Centre stage – tapping into Audo’s idea of group – can be a espresso counter lit up by a row of TR Bulb Pendant Lights.
‘A very good time to step into Japan’
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
Joachim Kornbek Engell-Hansen, Audo’s model and design director, and grandson of the founding father of Menu, explains the idea whereas seated across the heat strong strains of a round picket desk by Danielle Siggerud in a sun-filled nook of the showroom. ‘Now looks like time to step into Japan,’ he tells Wallpaper*. ‘With the change of going from Menu to Audo and in addition including in merchandise just like the Brdr. Petersen – very Danish crafted items – we really feel the gathering is by some means able to take to Japan.’
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
The brand new Tokyo house bridges these two worlds evoking a style of Audo Home – its community-focused hybrid HQ in Copenhagen designed by Norm Architects, with an idea retailer, restaurant and 10 in a single day rooms.
He provides: ‘We all know we are able to’t do the identical scale right here as in Copenhagen, however we would like this house to really feel like a small fraction of the total idea. There was once a extra open house right here, however we created these partitions so we might have these totally different sceneries unfolding – so it feels such as you’re coming to Audo. We aren’t nearly promoting merchandise – we wish to create a universe, by these totally different experiences.’
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
Sitting subsequent to him is Frederik Werner, designer and companion at Norm Architects – and shut collaborator for about 15 years – who highlights the deep aesthetic affinities between Japan and Denmark as an natural basis to the model’s enlargement. ‘What I discover actually fascinating right here is that this profound respect for the fabric,’ says Werner, who often works in Japan, with Norm Architects usually partnering with architect Keiji Ashizawa, on tasks starting from Karimoku Case to Trunk (Resort) Yoyogi.
‘There’s an honesty in regards to the designs, nothing gimmecky or faux. There’s an consideration to element and a typical design language between Denmark and Japan. We will have the identical expectations by way of the outome or high quality of a mission. Someway, these are two cultures than be seamlessly blended. Among the world’s greatest collectors of Danish classics additionally come from Japan.’
(Picture credit score: Audo Copenhagen)
Referring to the brand new house, he provides: ‘For a few years, we had furnishings showrooms, with items on podiums, virtually like useless areas. It’s extremely essential to evolve all of the senses whenever you enter an area.’
For Audo, the thought of group and collaboration is essential. Along with tapping into the enterprise platform of Louis Poulsen in Japan (a sister model below the Design Holding umbrella), which was previously primarily based on this house, Audo can even construct partnerships with ‘native ambassadors’, as is the case in New York with designer Colin King.
‘We don’t have an inner artistic workforce so we’re very depending on collaborations,’ says Kornbek Engell-Hansen, who was planning to go to Kyoto artisans the subsequent day with Werner, as a part of his first journey to Japan. ‘There’s a collaborative spirit. This Tokyo showroom could also be a small fraction of Audo however aesthetically it has the identical type and ambiance.’
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Supply: Wallpaper
