In spring 2017, the café at the iconic ARKEN Museum of Modern Art was looking for a redesign of their café. Being styled in the early 00s, the café furniture, feel and functionality was ready to be rethought. At Urgent.Agency we carved out a process and a conceptual direction, highlighting the qualities and potentials of the café. At the heart of our approach is considering the user experience: how does it feel to use the café – for different types of stays – whether it’s short or long, social or individual?

The redesign has three main features: We let the real star of the café – the outstanding view of the characteristic landscape – come to the front. We infuse the café space itself with a warmer colour scheme inspired by Nordic nature, more accommodating materiality and furniture. The approach is highlighted by the choice of genuine materials – notably quality wood and tiles.

While the existing design paid little notice to the large windows, we have created new seating opportunities facing the landscape and making more efficient use of the space. The practical and aesthetic experience of the counter itself has been redesigned, making it more accommodating and improving the interaction between staff and visitors.

On of the essential aspects of the project is to make better use of the space by the windows and bring the spectacular view to the forefront. That’s why have designed custom-made tables fit for the window niches facing the view.