Located in central Norway, and somewhere not a lot of us have actually heard of, it seems that Trondheim was a place of great Savoir Faire in the 1960s. Especially the Astoria Hotel!
Very little exists on the Astoria Hotel, which is a shame as the interiors were sixties design pushed to the extreme. Designed by Verner Panton one of Denmark’s most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers, he created an innovative and futuristic scheme in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colours.
The interior was radical and psychedelic which was an ensemble of his curved furniture, wall upholstering, textiles and lighting.
The design of the Hotel and Restaurant Astoria included the entry area with the cloakroom, the day restaurant with the winter garden, an evening restaurant with dance floor as well as a self-service restaurant.
Panton used the textile design Geometry I to IV for floors, walls and ceilings in order to give the restaurant a uniform image. The chairs are various versions of the cone chairs. The chairs grouped around the tables and the Topan lights work together to divide the large room into individual seating areas with an intimate note.
Seriously it is a bit of overkill and taken separately each item, fabric chair or light is a tour de force in modern Scandinavian design. However when all put together it is a bit of a psychedelic nightmare which would not do a hangover and favours.
However for central Norway in the 1960’s this was it!