Studio Coquille is the innovative architecture duo Marion de Lingua, who is French, and Frederik Svendsen, who is Danish. The duo’s studio is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. They created their private home in a joint design project with an emphasis on nature’s beauty and organic forms. They chose Dinesen Douglas plank floors finished with Natural oil, which gives the surface a dark, golden tone, to underscore their unique and colourful universe.
Private residence – Copenhagen, Denmark
Architect: Studio Coquille
Photographer: Claus Troelsgaard
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Douglas Classic
Thickness: 28 mm. With: 300 mm. Length: 2.5 m
Finish: Natural oil
Marion and Frederik met while they were both architecture students in Italy, where they found much of the inspiration for the renovation and renewal of this old, classic Copenhagen flat. In the renovation of the flat, Studio Coquille sought to preserve the connection to the original building, history and nature. The two architects used manual craftsmanship as a core feature throughout the design to create a unique, honest and handmade expression combined with modern design principles.
The inherited flat was designed with a strong emphasis on nature and natural elements. Coquille draws inspiration from the marine world, with conches, water plants and other organic forms. The underwater universe is evident everywhere in the flat, including in their innovative interior design, with furniture that seems to grow out of the walls, rooted like corals. This expression gives rise to a tactile experience that brings nature into their home and balances the integration of form and function.
The home has coloured limewashed walls in shades of blue, rose and green as references to a historical period when Copenhagen flats were often painted in a range of colours. The colour shades are reinterpretations of the iconic colourful buildings in Copenhagen’s nearby Nyhavn neighbourhood. The raw, textured surfaces of the walls, which are without doors and window sills, create a coherent and uninterrupted flow throughout the flat. This fluid movement from floor to ceiling is further underscored by the absence of unnecessary decorations or elements such as panels and radiators, which gives the walls a stronger role to play.
The floors are Dinesen Douglas Classic finished with Natural oil without lye. The soft, warm qualities of Douglas fir and the golden colour note brought out by the finish contribute to a calm, earthy atmosphere in the home.
Marion and Frederik designed the kitchen themselves with milled elements in birch plywood – a local natural material with connections to Scandinavian history combined with a modern and international twist. The soft, rounded shapes of the kitchen provide a pleasant and inviting experience in an interplay with the organic shapes that characterize the flat. The nautical associations and the view of the Copenhagen Lakes contribute to a light, fluid ambience, where nature and history come together in a harmonious whole.
