Garden party dining at Vaekst Restaurant

The Vaekst restaurant in Copenhagen was designed to resemble a garden party, with a two level greenhouse as it’s heart. Designed by Danish upcycling company Genbyg, the design was focussed around the principles of sustainability so to reduce waste, recycled materials were used extensively. These beautiful materials each have their own unique past life so they have the added benefit of layering the space with history and charm.

The shelves in the bar are made from file drawers from the National Bank’s archive, mahagony was from an old stadium grandstand, chairs were from an old High School, the bar is made from Swedish scaffolding planks, the lamps are made from old zink milk cans and the sails draped from the basement ceiling are made from old tablecloths.

The restaurant is run by the Cofoco hospitality group who power their long list of sites by their very own solar park, the size of 9 football fields, which produces 30% more energy then all their restaurants need. The restaurants also used locally sourced and organic produce and animal welfare is a key concern of these restaurants.

Sustainability specs:
– Extensive use of upcycled materials, including:
– The shelves in the bar is made ​​of file drawers from the National Bank ‘s archive.
– All mahogany fillets are made out of the old grandstand from a stadium (Lyngby Stadion).
– Glass shelves comes from Denmark’s first P – house, garages Palace in Copenhagen from 1934.
– Auditorium chairs in the characteristic style of 50’erne- 60s in teakwood from an old High School.
– Old Swedish fruit boxes
– The bar is made of old Swedish Scaffolding planks.
– The floor of the basement is made ​​of old floorboards from an old factory
– Cabinet fronts in the bar is made ​​of old floorboards.
– The lamps are made ​​of old zinc milk cans.
– The Sails in the basement is made ​​of old tablecloths.
– Powered by their own solar park
– Locally sourced and organic produce
– Biophilic design

The heart of the restaurant is a large greenhouse, built through the two floors of the space, thereby transporting the guest into the sensation of a lush garden. The vision was to create a particular ambience, reminding you that you are seated right in the middle of the underground of old Copenhagen – just like plants live partly underground, so does the restaurant.