In 1998, JM acquired a construction permit for the facility 'Vasahuset' and for the facility located next door, which up until now had accomodated a police station. A prerequisite for the contract was that a hotel had to be brought up. Having started many hotels in Sweden, Ejnar Söder was chosen after careful evaluations of all the participants.
In competition with several known and experienced interior design architects from London and Stockholm, Jan Söder and Lars Pihl of the newly-started company soder.pihl, were given the assignment of creating the interior design for the hotels. In cooperation with architect Rolf Lövenberg from the firm of Hotell- och restaurang-projektering AB the two hotels was designed.
One basic idea of Jan and Lars was to depart from Nordic “blond” and move more in the direction of an international style. The theme of the hotels, “Light and Sea”, gave them the possibility to endow each of the two buildings with an individual character.
Nordic Light leans toward sparseness and restraint in its use of colour and in the nature of its design. This is complemented by the richness of its special lighting effects and the experience created by the advanced audio and lighting system in its lobby area and bar. Nordic Sea has a more powerful interior design that brings to mind terms such as “robust”, “warm” and “close to nature”. Natural materials such as wood and stone are juxtaposed with sheet steel and a gigantic aquarium.