For gourmet connoisseurs, the name NOMA stands for the perfection of taste. Ranked as the number one restaurant in the world for 2 years running by the S. Pellegrino Awards, these 4 letters have come to epitomize pure harmony. Located in Copenhagen, the brilliance of the world’s most creative chef René Redzepi at the helm of NOMA has undoubtedly placed Nordic cuisine on the global culinary map. Through a combination of innovation and finesse, Redzepi creates jewels on a plate influenced by the surrounding regions of NOMA. The restaurant is situated on the ground floor of an 18th century warehouse which has been designed by Space, a Copenhagen-based multidisciplinary design studio. The interior itself has been designed with the same uniqueness, experimentation and simplicity as the food itself. However, it is on the upper floor that the ambience changes and true magic takes place; the magic of the preparation area i.e. the miracle Kitchen known as the Noma FoodLab.

With great expectations higher than ever before, the birth for the need to create a space where the chefs could continue to take their skills to a higher level was created. The architects who made that need a reality were none other than the office we know as 3XN_GXN. As the warehouse was a protected building, the restrictions were extremely tight. GXN which is the environmental friendly ecological group that was created by 3XN architects, were required to design the complete interior without using so much as a single nail on the walls or the flooring. A design detail objective that may be the trend of the 2010’s but a true challenge when it concerns a complete project; a project, which after taking a glimpse of it structurally, we call it the perfection of raw joining.

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

The whole concept for the NOMA FoodLab started with the need to store all ingredients near the kitchen whereby transparent plastic boxes in different sizes are used. And it is the dimensions of these boxes that ultimately formed the basis for the dimensions and arrangement of the final design. The approach was to design four central multi-functional storage units; each composed from over five hundred uniquely formed wooden cubes. Curving playfully throughout the space, these units divide the 200 square metre room into smaller areas accommodating the Food Lab, the herb garden, staff areas and office. All of the assembly detailing was inspired from traditional craftsmanship and it is truly breathtaking.

The complete boxed out concept was fitted on site almost like a puzzle would be with a great level of accuracy and detailing.

Looking at this Scandinavian style kitchen you are overwhelmed by its generous open plan layout,    organization, variety and its contents. At first glance, you could be mistaken for believing that this is actually the restaurant itself with an open kitchen theme. However after studying its structural history and how it has come to be, this space to us the ‘Yatzer Connoisseurs of Design’ stands for idealization.

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

photo © Adam Mørk

Noma FoodLab by 3XN

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