ARKEN Museum of Modern Art

MODERN ART MEETS GREAT DANISH DESIGN AT ARKEN

In 2018, ARKEN Museum of Modern Art opened its doors to a fully redesigned café on the outskirts of Copenhagen. Designed in collaboration with Danish interior design studio Urgent. Agency, the space was carefully reimagined to honour its Nordic roots, while bringing the spectacular view to the forefront.

Originally designed in the early 00s, ARKEN CAFÉ hangs like a lifeboat on the side of Ishøj’s iconic modern art museum. Inside the café, wide wooden floorboards are reminiscent of a ship’s deck. The new interior design strived to retain this maritime feel yet bring out its best qualities – namely, it’s surrounding landscape and unique vista.  

As a result, custom-made tables were created to fit the floor-to-ceiling window niches and make better use of the space, offering a stunning view of Strandparken and Køge Bay. Deeply inspired by Nordic nature, a warm palette of earthy tones were chosen to compliment the high quality materials of wood and natural stone. 

Throughout the space, great focus has been placed on functional, contemporary materials and furniture. In the ARKEN SHOP, the Orient™ pendant by Jo Hammerborg offers a flawless example of true craftsmanship. The lampshade is hand spun in a wooden mould - a feature that underlines its original, organic shape. The fitting elegantly conceals the low energy light source and ensures a soft, pleasant light without any glare. 

Elsewhere, in the café, the Grand Prix™ chair by Arne Jacobsen sits pretty in soft oak. The celebrated chair comes in both a steel or wood base and can be personalised through a series of colours, wood types and upholstery.