What was once a military warehouse that stored mines for the Royal Danish Navy is now the new BIG-designed home of the famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen. Located between two lakes in the city's Christiania community, Noma 2.0 was envisioned as an “intimate culinary garden village,” BIG describes.

At 1,290 m2, the project comprises seven small buildings with 11 connected spaces that are tailored — building materials and all — to their specific functions. The connected spaces are densely clustered around the service kitchen, putting the chefs at the center of it all. With this central position, the kitchen crew can have an overview of every corner of the restaurant. 

The spaces are connected by glass-covered pathways, which allow natural light to flow in and keep chefs and diners connected with the natural environment outside. Guests can also explore the restaurant to experience each space's unique character; for instance, the barbecue was designed like a walk-in hut, while the brick lounge feels like a giant, cozy fireplace.

A variety of Nordic materials and lush greenery help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The 40-cover dining room and adjacent private dining room are made of stacked timber planks, designed to "resemble neatly piled wood at a lumber yard”. A large skylight and expansive windows can slide open to the outdoor permagarden. Noma also has three new greenhouses that are used as a garden, test kitchen, and bakery.

Find more project images and drawings in the gallery below.

Project credits

Project type: Commission
Client: Noma
Collaborators: BIG Ideas, BIG Engineering, NT Consult, Studio David Thulstrup, Thing&Brandt Landskab

Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Finn Nørkjær
Project Managers: Ole Elkjær-Larsen, Tobias Hjortdal
Project Leader: Frederik Lyng
Team: Olga Litwa, Lasse-Lyhne-Hansen, Athena Morella, Enea Michelesio, Jonas Aarsø Larsen, Eskild Schack Pedersen, Claus Rytter Bruun de Neergaard, Hessam Dadkhah, Allen Dennis Shakir, Göcke Günbulut, Michael Kepke, Stefan Plugaru, Borko Nikolic, Dag Præstegaard, Timo Harboe Nielsen, Margarita Nutfulina, Nanna Gyldholm Møller, Joos Jerne, Kim Christensen, Tore Banke, Kristoffer Negendahl, Jakob Lange, Hugo Yun Tong Soo, Morten Roar Berg, Yan Ma, Tiago Sá, Ryohei Koike, Yoko Gotoh, Kyle Thomas David Tousant, Geoffrey Eberle, Jonseok Hang, Ren Yang Tan, Nina Vuga, Giedrius Mamavicius, Yehezkiel Wiliardy, Simona Reiciunaite, Yunyoung Choi, Vilius Linge, Tomas Karl Ramstrand, Aleksander Wadas, Andreas Mullertz, Angelos Siampakoulis, Manon Otto, Carlos Soriah

All photos courtesy of BIG.