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Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group, KILO
- Year: 2014
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Photographs:Courtesy of BIG
Text description provided by the architects. Copenhagen restaurant group Cofoco has teamed up with some of the city’s most creative forces — Kilo founder Lars Larsen (Kilo) creative advisor Jonas Hartz (Hz), BIG partners Jakob Lange and Bjarke Ingels (BIG) — to create the new restaurant Llama – Restaurante Sudamericano.
Llama is among the first restaurants in the region to draw on the flavors of the South American continent. Inspired by Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and, moving a bit to the north, Mexico, the menu features ceviches, anticuchos, Uruguayan-style meats, tacos, and a list of South American spirits. But Llama is without question rooted in the Nordic region and aims to thoughtfully and sensibly marry the South American inspiration with Scandinavian products and recipes.
For years, the space that is now Llama was a dark, impersonal basement. Designers Larsen and Lange have created an open space generously connected to the city. The walls and floors are lined with handcrafted Mexican cement tiles, melding iconic design influences from Latin America with Copenhagen cool.
The interior design carries a number of main drivers — colorful tiles, black furniture, a vibrant green wall, and brass light fixtures — that together create a spatial configuration conducive to linked experiences throughout the restaurant.
“From an architectural point of view, I think we have created a remarkable transformation – the main idea of merging two cultures has turned an interpretation of a traditional Latin American vernacular into a contemporary Copenhagen public space,“ says BIG Partner Jakob Lange.
Kilo founder and Head of Design Lars Larsen echoes Lange’s observations: “Llama is product of a strong creative team with an ambition to crate a strong social space in a span between South America and Copenhagen – the flamboyant and the understated merging to create a restaurant with an international feel rooted in Scandinavian heritage.”
The Interior plan is optimized for seating 180 people two times a night. There are three different dining spaces, with the bar as the venue’s beating heart.
