Snøhetta is no stranger to transdiscipline design, having created everything from architecture to graphics, however this is the Norwegian firm’s first foray into tabletop product. A new set of weighty cutlery created for Barr (the new restaurant in the original Noma space, which opened last year), will complement the restaurant’s warming menu and polished-rustic interiors, as well as being on sale online and in selected stores, enabling more people to take part in Barr’s culinary story.
Barr is renowned for its nuanced approach to Scandinavian cuisine, uniting new Nordic, and old-fashioned strains. The cutlery, with its contemporary profile and farmhouse finish, follows suit. The bespoke set is defined by its stonewashed steel surface, treated so as to naturally and tonally transition from light to dark grey. The firm matched the design to ‘Barr’s food philosophy; an ideology where every ingredient and its processing are carefully selected to create a new and original dining experiences.’
Inside Barr restaurant, Copenhagen
‘The shapes are carefully aligned, creating harmony between the individual pieces of cutlery so that they form a natural whole, like letters in the same font,’ explains Benjamin Folkmann Hansen, head of Table Noir, the Danish design firm that Snøhetta collaborated with on the design. Snøhetta was also joined by Barr’s executive chef Thorsten Schmidt, ensuring its first table-top designs were as exacting as Barr’s interior architecture, furniture and menu. The utilitarian cutlery is designed to survive busy restaurant life, therefore will withstand household use for decades.
This isn’t the first time Barr has teamed up with designers to enhance its restaurant experience. Upon Barr’s launch last year, Schmidt worked with ceramicist Kasper Wurtz to design a collection of plates in three neutral tones. Accompanying these are water glasses by his wife Rikke Malling, as well as beer glasses that were originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the SAS Royal Hotel. Malling also created a cutlery tray so diners could reset their own table for each course. The new, and long-awaited addition of the Snøhetta cutlery completes the table setting. §
