The hotel on the Nybroviken waterfront was designed for the Olympic Games of 1912, and ever since it has been a home away from home for both movie stars and club kids. A little more than a century later, Wingårdh Architects was commissioned to tailor a new wardrobe for the interior of the building. Today is the opening of the hotel’s restaurant, The Strand, with the rest of the building expected to be completed in the spring of 2018.

When Stockholm was selected to host the 1912 Olympics, it was expected to become an international city thronging with people. The Strand Hotel was designed specifically for the big event, and Nybrokajen 9 has been an attractive address ever since, with its magnificent view over the glittering waters of the bay. In the 1980s the hotel became a nightlife destination with a line to get in winding along the embankment.

The building has undergone many facelifts over the years, and every decade has brought more wrinkles. Now we have peeled away the layers of time to reveal the beautiful and well-crafted building within. The monumental ground floor has been transformed. A gray tone holds it all together and establishes a serene foundation. The colors of the interior are plucked from the views through the windows—from the waters of Nybroviken and the roofs and façades of the surrounding buildings—and mixed together. A pattern of black and white marble flooring lends a new elegance to the ground level.

The early twentieth century was an era of great respect for materials—they were to be authentic and to age gracefully. We continue in this same spirit with oiled wood, natural stone, color-through render, and embossed metalwork. And then we select from the best of contemporary Swedish and Italian furniture design for a few choice additions.

The Strand dreams of guests from all over the world. It loves diversity, welcomes the countryside, and is passionate about the local.

“We have picked our colors from that view across the bay,” says Leila Atlassi, an interior designer at Wingårdh. “The idea was to anchor the interior in the surrounding environment and create something more enduring than trends.”

The illustrious Radisson Blu Strand Hotel is prominently located at Nybrokajen 9. It was originally designed by the architect Ludwig Peterson and opened in 1912. Wingårdh Architects’ brief is to rethink every part of the building, including 170 guest rooms and suites, a lobby, restaurant, bars, and meeting center. The ground floor has become more visible from the Nybrokajen waterfront, and with the addition of some new public functions it is now open and active around the clock. The renovation has also given the hotel an entrance with a bar facing Berzelii Park. First to open is the restaurant The Strand, which premiers today, while the remaining areas of the hotel will be completed in the spring of 2018.