AUDO HOUSE

Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen

• Architects

Audo House is a place where architecture and interior design shape experience, and where community is cultivated in every corner. Within its historic walls, carefully considered spaces unfold – uniting café, concept shop, event areas, and residences – each fostering connection, quiet reflection, and the kind of creativity that emerges when design and human presence meet.

In Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district, Audo House has become a living monument to the enduring language of design — a place where history and modern life converge, and where community thrives. Designed and continually reimagined by Norm Architects, the former 1918 trading post has been transformed into a dynamic hub that unites architecture, design, hospitality, and culture under one roof.

photo_credit Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen — Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen

As the headquarters and home of lifestyle brand Audo Copenhagen, the house also serves as a living showroom for the brand’s furniture, lighting and accessories. Since opening in 2019, it has embodied the brand’s collaborative spirit: a physical expression of the brand that is open to the public and designed to be shared. Here, guests are invited not only to explore the collections, but to experience them in situ — whether dining in the restaurant, staying in the exclusive residences, or engaging with the many cultural activities that animate the house.

Most recently redefined through the exhibition MONUMENTS in 2025, Audo House was transformed into an evocative exploration of form, texture, and time. Inspired by Copenhagen’s Neo-Classical heritage and the quiet restraint of modern minimalism, the installation unfolded across the house’s many functions. The interventions on the ground floor, originally designed for the exhibition, were made permanent, becoming a lasting part of the space. Each room now contributes to a narrative that celebrates monumentality not as grandeur, but as presence, longevity, and emotional weight.

More than a showroom, Audo House is a community space in constant dialogue with its surroundings. It is home to design collections and exhibitions, but also to local gatherings, yoga classes, shared meals, harbour swims and international collaborations. The daily life of the house reflects a vision of design not only as beautiful objects, but as a framework for connection — between people, disciplines, and cultures.

Antique sculptures and contemporary pieces are layered with skirtings, bodega curtains and subtly theatrical touches. These interpretive gestures ask what monumentality means today. Each space is a spatial meditation. Some intimate, some saturated. All designed to be felt rather than explained.

As a monobrand store, the Concept Shop showcases Audo’s designs in intimate, life-inspired settings that explore how beauty and function shape everyday living. At the same time, it is a study in quiet luxury: a curated space where signature pieces transcend function, standing as sculptural forms alongside highend artworks and tactile materials. Every detail speaks of refined restraint, celebrating design not only as objects of use but as enduring companions to how we live, connect, and gather. Here, design meets norm archi t ect s community – transforming a simple visit into an exploration.

An integrated bookcase by Danish cabinetmakers Kolon acts as both a gateway to meeting rooms and staff staircases, and as a flexible display wall. Its home-like character allows norm archi t ect s exhibitions to shift easily, adding warmth and adaptability to the space.

Known for thoughtful, seasonal fare, Wulff & Konstali brings its celebrated approach and lunch to Audo House – enjoyed either indoors or in the serene courtyard, where nature, architecture, and open space merge seamlessly. The café doubles as a living showcase for Audo’s design, placing furniture, lighting, cutlery, and glassware into daily use – transforming design into an experience.

The stunning courtyard extends the architecture outward, blurring the line between interior and exterior. Inspired by classic European gardens, it creates a serene setting where carefully placed design objects, sunlight, and plants engage with the building’s form, adding scale, rhythm, and a sense of quiet reverence to the overall architectural experience.

A grand central staircase links the concept shop and café on the ground floor with a library and dedicated workspace above. Serving both guests and Audo’s team, it creates a natural flow through the house, where multiple needs and functions meet. Clear transitions ensure that norm archi t ect s movement through the building feels intuitive, elegant, and welcoming.

The workspace at Audo House embraces a fluidity that reflects the evolving nature of work itself – where boundaries between office, home, and social space dissolve, and creativity flourishes in unexpected ways. Every detail, from open-plan areas to quiet corners, is designed to support this seamless flow, encouraging both focused work and spontaneous collaboration.

Throughout the space, bespoke and inbuilt shelving adds both function and character – carefully crafted to integrate storage and display without interrupting the calm, minimalist aesthetic. These thoughtfully designed elements provide practical solutions while also contributing to the home-like atmosphere that defines Audo House.

In this sense, the presence of Audo’s own design collections throughout the space is more than aesthetic. It is an ongoing exploration of how design influences wellbeing, productivity, and relationships within the workplace. Each piece encourages a sense of connection and inspires those who work here every day.

With a series of thoughtfully composed nooks and curated pieces, Audo’s designs norm archi t ect s help shape the modern workspace.

The hallways balance restraint with quiet storytelling. Minimal and pared-back, they allow subtle details – traces of the building’s history and architectural heritage – to emerge, creating a rhythm of discovery that connects the past with the present.

On the top floor of Audo House, the 10-room boutique hotel offers a warm and intimate alternative to conventional hospitality – spaces where the spirit of home and the experience of travel meet. Here, guests are invited to curate their stay with ease and autonomy, free from the formalities of a traditional hotel environment. Each room is a living showcase of carefully curated furniture, lighting, and accessories, allowing guests to experience the tactile qualities of design not just as objects to be admired, but as integral parts of daily life.

photo_credit Christian Møller Andersen — Christian Møller Andersen

The quietly luxurious Studio Room combines sleeping and living into one fluid space, complete with a dining or working table for moments of productivity or pause. Thoughtful details, from bespoke furniture and wellness products to curated artworks, books and ceramics, create an environment that feels instantly welcoming and deeply personal.

The Design Rooms expand on this feeling of home, revealing spaces where every detail has been considered – each one a unique composition of Audo Copenhagen pieces, timeless artworks and tactile interior accessories.

For those seeking simplicity and ease, the Classic Rooms capture the spirit of the Audo experience in its most essential form: a tranquil retreat designed for restful sleep and aesthetic enrichment. Ideal for guests eager to explore the city by day, the Classic Room offers an inviting place to return to – where the quiet elegance of Nordic design sets the tone for relaxation.

Each room is designed as more than a neutral backdrop – they are environments that shape behaviour and emotion. An approach that emphasizes tactile, soulful simplicity over cold minimalism, creating spaces that carry emotional weight. This simplicity is rooted in elemental, time-honoured materials that are allowed to age and absorb meaning. Patina and imperfection are embraced, giving the interiors a sense of life and presence.

A wall of bespoke, inbuilt oak cabinetry conceals the entrance to the bathroom, creating a seamless architectural detail that blends function and form. Inside, cool stone and marble surfaces offer a striking contrast to the warm, tactile wood tones of the bedroom, resulting in a transition that feels both elegant and understatedly luxurious.

Each of the ten rooms at Audo House is defined by a distinct colorway, thoughtfully muted to maintain a calm, contemplative atmosphere. While the palette remains soft and restrained, the variations subtly shape each environment, giving every room its own character and mood. Together, they create norm archi t ect s a harmonious rhythm throughout the building.

While the hallways remain pared back and minimal, subtle details quietly reveal the norm archi t ect s building’s former life and architectural heritage.

With its open vaulted ceiling, soothing colour palette and carefully chosen furnishings, the Harbour Space, located on the upper floor of Audo Residence, is the ideal space for business meetings, events and private dining.

In many ways, Audo House itself is a contradiction. From the outside, it feels monumental and historic. Inside, it’s raw and pared back. That tension – between ornament and restraint norm archi t ect s – is what makes the space interesting.