Jaime Hayon launches Room 506 at Copenhagen’s iconic SAS Royal Hotel
Considering it was once labelled the world’s first design hotel, it is a tragic loss that apart from the exterior, not much remains of the iconic Copenhagen property created by Danish architect Arne Jacobsenin 1960.
Commissioned by commercial air company Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) as an international gateway to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the 20-storey hotel – which comprised an airport terminal – was the tallest building in the city upon completion and was conceived entirely by Jacobsen who, employed as an external designer by local furniture outfit Fritz Hansen, also launched many of his iconic furniture pieces at that time.
In the 1970s though, a sad lack of foresight saw the refurbishment of many of the hotel’s guestrooms, bar Room 606, which was thankfully saved by the general manager at that time and is still available to book today. The room exhibits Jacobsen’s original design along with a selection of his iconic pieces, including the 'Swan', 'Drop' and 'Egg' chairs.
54 years later, Fritz Hansen has tactically re-surfaced at the hotel, this time employing the skills of Spanish artist and designer, Jaime Hayon, who embraced the task of re-designing another of the guestrooms - number 506. ‘To make this room has been a little bit of a celebration,’ says Hayon. ‘The origin from the beginning was to brainstorm together and enjoy.’
A range of existing Hayon designs for Fritz Hansen including the ‘Favn’ sofa, ‘Analog’ table and ‘Ro’ easy chair are complemented by a number of accessories such as a statement low-hanging ball light, lamps, cabinet, mirror and vase. ‘They’re small things, but it’s those details that make the place pleasurable,’ explains Hayon.
Also in the room is Jacobsen’s 'Drop' chair - designed in conjunction with the others as a series for the original hotel - which has now been re-launched after 50 years in hibernation. Hayon interpreted the chair in his own eccentric manner by upholstering it in fur: ‘I went with the most risky textile they had. "I said, 'let’s get hairy', you know, 'let’s get the animal on!"' he jokes.
Typically, Hayon has arranged the room in muted, putty grey tones with the odd pop of colour creating an interesting combination. ‘It was really about the idea that these colours are not easily combined,’ he explains. ‘I always say that in design, if you keep things sort of monochrome, and you have a few pieces with colour, you live quite peacefully.’
The result is clean and modern, with an undertone of spice that hints at Hayon’s Mediterranean charm. ‘It’s a great idea and it has been fun to do it,’ he says.
ADDRESS
Raddison Blu Royal Hotel
Hammerichsgade 1
Copenhagen V, DK-1611
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Lauren Ho is the Travel Director of Wallpaper*, roaming the globe, writing extensively about luxury travel, architecture and design for both the magazine and the website. Lauren serves as the European Academy Chair for the World's 50 Best Hotels.
-
Umbrian castle hotel Reschio seduces with 1,000 years of history, now explored in a new book
The estate, home to a boutique hotel and rentable houses, is documented in Rizzoli's ‘Reschio: the First Thousand Years’ – and is open for stays
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
Bombed-out bunkers to nuclear disasters: Thomas Demand on the state of the image
On the heels of his Houston MFA retrospective and ahead of its opening in Taipei in January 2025, German artist Thomas Demand reflects on today’s image culture
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
Where to eat in Copenhagen: designers’ favourite haunts
Local designers Charlie Hedin, Christian+Jade, David Thulstrup, Julius Iversen and Maria Bruun reveal where to eat in Copenhagen
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Vipp’s Scandinavian guesthouse offers a sleek setting amid a wild landscape
Vipp Cold Hawaii is a Scandinavian guesthouse designed by architecture studio Hahn Lavsen in Denmark’s Thy National Park
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Ambra Copenhagen marries traditional Italian cuisine with sleek Danish design
Ambra Copenhagen is Space Copenhagen’s latest design-centred hospitality venture
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
24 hours in Copenhagen: stay, bike, dine, and discover Danish design
Plan your 24 hours in Copenhagen: sleepover in a former brewery, wake up with a wild swim, and immerse yourself in the home of a modernist master
By Simon Mills Published
-
A weekend in wonderful Copenhagen
The ultimate weekend in Copenhagen starts here: discover the latest openings across the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture, stay in a hotel afloat, start your day with brilliant baked goods and ski down a power-station piste
By Simon Mills Published
-
Kisawa Sanctuary aims to protect the Indian Ocean and its people
Kisawa Sanctuary, a ‘resort-to-research’ hotel, harnesses the power of luxury tourism to fund scientific projects
By Sean O'Toole Published
-
Discover the Fritz Hansen pop-up hotel in Seoul
Contemporary design meets a traditional setting in Fritz Hansen’s Seoul retreat
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Copenhagen’s cultural institutions, as recommended by leading Danish creatives
In collaboration with Visit Copenhagen, the city’s official tourism agency, Wallpaper* invites four great Danes – fashion designer Freya Dalsjø, chef Frederik Bille Brahe, interior and furniture designer Signe Bindslev Henriksen, and floral artist Julius Værnes Iversen – to tell us about their favourite Copenhagen museums, and how to make the most of the city’s creative scene
By Melina Keays Last updated