ODDSSON is a very different proposition. Different is good. Billing itself as a ‘ho(s)tel’, the Reykjavík concept has design at its helm; embracing high- and low-culture and, as they say, ‘leaving everything mainstream out’. Expect the unexpected. (And that includes a karaoke room right in the middle of a fine dining restaurant.)
Designers Döðlur have run amok within the walls of the famous JL HÚSIÐ (JL HOUSE) building, the 1940s architectural treasure lending its brutish industrial aesthetic as a backdrop for riotous colours and a museum-grade collection of vintage design pieces; 20th century icons from designers like Eero Saarinen, Augusto Bozzi, Mario Bellini, and postmodern Italian icon Alessandro Mendini, to name but four.
Not content with stocking the Reykjavík hotel/hostel chock full of rare design gems, mind, Döðlur have produced a range of custom furniture informed by the old warehouse; factory leftovers the inspiration for a minimalist collection that sits comfortably amid its famous companions.
ODDSSON’s Italian restaurant Bazaar offers a high-culture counterpart to a casual lounge, café and bistro that serves as the breeding ground for conversation between the ho(s)tel’s discerning guests — who, should they be unlucky enough to have had their wares misplaced by an airline, can borrow clothes from the Lost Luggage Program.
In a perpetual state of collaboration with the city’s renowned cultural set, ODDSSON have partnered with artist/perfumer Andrea Maack (who produces fragrances as wearable art) to produce their own scent, and are located in the same building as The Reykjavík Art Academy; a yoga and meditation room breathes soul into all the concept offers, and you’ll find bunk-beds next to a luxurious hotel suite — which means the 230 guests will be a pleasingly mixed bunch. Different is good.
Photography, Ari Magg
