Modern lounge with wood partitions, green plants, abstract art on dark walls, and contemporary furniture in earthy tones arranged throughout the space.

May 26, 2026

Words: Rebecca Dalzell

Photography: Cody Bamford

Danish Design Pillars Shine In This Stylish Restaurant And Lounge

Hot Shots: A-nrd

social: @a_nrdstudio
project: Locke Copenhagen

Alessio Nardi and Lukas Persakovas, directors at A-nrd, studied and worked in industrial design, including at an Amsterdam consultancy, where they overlapped briefly. Born in Italy, Nardi founded A-nrd (a riff on the pronunciation of his first initial and last name) in 2015, after stints at Tord Boontje and Lee Broom. Persakovas, from Lithuania, began his career as a retail designer for such luxury stores as Galeries Lafayette, joining A-nrd in 2018. Their backgrounds make them particularly attentive to detail, a perspective well suited to hospitality, which has become their specialty.

Their latest commission in the sector is Locke Copenhagen, for which A-nrd conceived the public spaces. Some designers working in Scandinavia for the first time might lean into the region’s modernist heritage. But not Nardi and Persakovas, whose studio is in London, the same city where Locke, a short- and extended-stay hospitality brand, launched a decade ago, now with 28 properties across Europe. “We avoid direct references or thematic interiors,” Nardi says of A-nrd’s strategy for all projects, including the Denmark one. Instead, he and Persakovas found their angle based on three pillars of Danish design: simplicity of form, love of nature, and the idea of home. “There’s a real coziness in Scandinavian houses, linked to the weather and hygge—minimal but warm,” he adds.

  • Two men pose in front of a concrete wall, standing and sitting by a tall wooden table with two stools and a hanging pendant light above.
    Alessio Nardi and Lukas Persakovas.
  • Modern restaurant interior with wooden tables, green and tan chairs, pendant lights, plants, and neutral-colored walls and floors.
  • Modern lounge with brown leather chairs, round tables, a long upholstered bench, abstract wall art, and a dark wood panel backdrop.
  • A modern wooden structure with two large black screens, a built-in red decorative piece, an overhead lamp, and a potted green plant beside it against a concrete wall.
  • A modern cafe interior with wooden tables, green and brown chairs, fabric panels, potted plants, and a textured concrete wall.
  • Two round wooden tables with green cushioned stools sit in front of a curved rust-colored sofa, with a wooden lamp and plants against a concrete wall.
  • Modern café interior with wooden tables and chairs, a built-in planter, curved concrete wall, pendant lights, and a counter with a menu board in the background.
  • Modern lounge with wood partitions, green plants, abstract art on dark walls, and contemporary furniture in earthy tones arranged throughout the space.

A-nrd carved the cavernous 1,950 square feet into a welcoming environment comprised of four zones: reception, lounge, café, and restaurant, all with a 15-foot ceiling. Curved oak partitions on stone blocks delineate some areas. “They’re monumental, but the space still feels open and light comes in,” Persakovas notes. In the café, a long paper lantern handmade by Céline Wright helps temper the scale. Throughout, A-nrd softened the exposed-concrete interior with sand-toned café curtains, inlaid oak tables, and wood sculptures by Tilde Grynnerup. Much of the seating is custom, including three different armchair styles—a way to appeal to locals seeking a change from the modernist classics. a-nrd.com

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May 26, 2026

Words: Add name tag via side panel

Photography: Add name tag via side panel

Danish Design Pillars Shine In This Stylish Restaurant And Lounge

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