An architectural flower shop by David Thulstrup opens in Copenhagen

Tableau, a newly opened flower shop in the heart of Copenhagen, showcases flora as art. Sitting on Store Kongensgade, its design was tasked to the ascendant studio of architect David Thulstrup (most recently behind the new Noma and the Vipp Hotel), who completely reinvented the flower-store concept for Julius Værnes Iversen, owner of the city’s well-known BB Blomster.

Treating flowers as another material with which to work, Thulstrup pared back his design, allowing the living elements to take centre stage. ‘It was important to create a platform where the flowers would shine and stand out,’ he explains.

The unique brief was centred around the idea of using podiums to showcase the flora, with each piece being custom designed for Tableau. ‘The geometric shapes and cold materiality of the podiums, along with the blue vinyl floor, stand in strong contrast to the flowers exhibited, elevating their nature and giving their organic shapes and varied colours all the attention,’ says Thulstrup.

New Copenhagen flower shop Tableau, designed by Studio David Thulstrup

Having stripped back the ceiling and walls to expose raw concrete in the 19th-century building, the architect worked primarily with what he describes as honest materials, collaborating with local artists such as sculptor Poul Isbak. Singular floral displays of orchids and proteas sit atop the studio’s glass-brick podiums, locally commissioned terrazzo stone slabs, and clean metalwork of polished chrome and perforated sheets. Meanwhile the storefront’s galvanised steel centrepiece sits at eye level, greeting visitors with a sea of colourful flowers. Tableau’s custom lighting glows clean and understated, with the mood-adjustable LEDs floating above in mirrored metal finishes.

At the end of the store, a bespoke pot-plant formed from a steel cylinder layered with pipe-cut pots, adds illumination. The central shaft is filled by a free-standing light sculpture, radiating white by day, and transitioning into a mesmerising purple growth light that fills the store by night, subtly marking yet another addition of Thulstrup’s design to the Danish capital.