INTERIOR RENOVATION

Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel has undergone a complete interior renovation that has involved rethinking the entire hotel experience. Over time, small-scale improvements have been made sporadically as needed, leaving the hotel disjointed and lacking a coherent identity. Accordingly, the renovation was motivated to create a more culturally and contextually situated hotel that would emanate the Scandinavian philosophy of functionality, comfort and craftsmanship. The vision for Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel was to establish not only a welcoming luxury accommodation, but to create a memorable experience that would connect guests to the waterfront site and city of Copenhagen.

The harbour front location served as inspiration for the entire interior palette. From the roughness and warmth of wooden docks, to the fluidity and softness of the blue water, Copenhagen’s water front atmosphere flows into the new interior spaces. From the entrance lobby, great room and restaurant to more than 200 guest rooms, a new narrative of materials and colours has revitalized the hotel. While this interior vision reaches the most public and private of spaces, each area is distinguished by unique expressions tailored to its particular spatial programming.

The great room and reception areas serve as a warm embrace welcoming guests to Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel. Here, check-in and concierge desks, meticulously crafted from stone, stand as unique pieces of furniture, blending functionality with an unmistakable touch of sophistication, ensuring that the guests' first impressions are as memorable as they are seamless. A wooden xxx wall with modular niches and brass details bring a warmth to the welcoming area, creating a visual anchor point for check-in. A few steps further and the hotel opens up into a double height space which has been cleared of any unnecessary dividing walls, creating an airy ambience that fosters a sense of openness and connection with the adjacent city, harbour front, and new terrace. A semi-circular, textured brass bar acts as the center point of the great room fronted by blue high stools that face a view of Copenhagen. Surrounding the bar, the room is organized into lounge and informal seating areas that are characterized by hues of blue and wooden furniture that bring a sense of calm and refinement to the spatial experience.

The restaurant of Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel is designed with a more moody atmosphere than the rest of the hotel’s spaces. The existing kitchen and interior dividing walls have been removed to establish a fluid and open room that offers diverse dining functionalities. Three different ceiling heights serve to distinguish zoned areas within the restaurant. The lowest ceiling hovers above the entrance lounge area, the middle height ceiling hangs over the central copper bar and smaller dining areas, and the highest ceiling is set above the main dining area, allowing in light from the adjacent harbour. Incorporating flexible dividing options has been essential in designing a restaurant with over 220 seats. Accordingly, in addition to zoned areas, translucent linen blue curtains can be used for smaller events and dining groups, while dually bringing softness and acoustic comfort to the space. Wooden paneled walls backed with locally sourced seaweed additionally add to the acoustic well being of the space as well as carry through the water front theme.

The newly renovated guest rooms exude intimacy, peace and privacy through the selected warm and neutral colour and material palette. Custom, in-house designed and integrated wooden furniture again pull in ties to the harbour front setting of Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel. Special attention has been paid to the shapes and details of each furniture element to ensure a clean space with proper functionality to satisfy all guest’s needs. Brass accents and lighting, adding a touch of refinement and evoking a sense of timeless elegance within the space. Above the bed, along the entire length of the wall, is a printed artwork by Danish artist Anne Nowak made specifically for the hotel. Guest rooms that face the harbour have the artwork in blue, and those that face the city, in green. Also custom made for the rooms is the wool woven carpet which evokes feelings of rippling water across the floor.

The renovation as a whole envelopes guests in a world of organic shapes and harbour hues and is sure to leave a lasting impression on all who walk through Copenhagen’s Marriott Hotel doors.

Program: Interior renovation of Hotel rooms, Great room, Restaurant

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Client: Marriott Hotel

Collaborators: Helle Flou, Anne Nowak

Type: Commission

Status: In progress, completion expected 2024

Team: Heechan Park, Henning Stüben, Thomas Walcher, Richard Teeling, Gaspar Cánepa, Jose Villar Pastor, Ditte Bjerregaard, Kristen Van Haeren