Snohetta: The Latest Architecture and News

Snøhetta, in collaboration with MQDC, has released the design for Cloud 11, a large-scale mixed-use complex in the South Sukhumvit district in Bangkok, Thailand. The new development addresses the pressing need for urban green spaces in the densely built neighborhood. The project, measuring a total of 250.000 square meters, also aims to help transform the Sukhumvit into a hub for innovation and tech companies in the city while providing the area with a large, green public space and spaces for artists, makers, and tech entrepreneurs. Construction has already started, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

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Snøhetta, the Norweigan-based architecture and landscape practice, has been chosen to re-imagine the French Asylum and Administrative Courts of Montreuil. The proposal puts together both institutions on one site, surrounded by luscious green areas and a biophilic landscape. Set to begin construction in 2024, and be completed by 2026, the project includes the design of the buildings, landscape, wayfinding, interior, and furniture.

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The Sámi National Theater Beaivváš and Sámi High School and Reindeer Husbandry School are two of the most important cultural institutions of Sápmi, a region in northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. To strengthen the position of the two institutions, a project was initiated in June 2021 to create a shared cultural and educational facility. A design proposal by 70°N arkitektur, in collaboration with Snøhetta and artist and architect Joar Nango, was chosen following a competition. The building, also known as Čoarvemátta, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by 2024.

Snøhetta unveiled the design of a new building and landscape design for the Vesterheim campus in Decorah, Iowa. The campus, which also contains the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, explores the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience. The new 8,000-square-foot building, known as “the Commons,” is set to become the entry point and main gathering space for the cultural campus. Aside from anchoring the site, the intervention also aims to strengthen the site’s connection to the city. The building is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 2023.

Developed by WERK Arkitekter and Snøhetta, the new maritime center on the coast of Esbjerg, Denmark, opens to the public. The wooden structure is conceived as a gathering space for watersports clubs and other visitors to the harbor, providing the coastal town with a maritime social hub. The circular structure protects the visitors from harsh weather conditions, while the large windows and amphitheater stairs open up views of the sea. Dubbed “The Lantern,” the project represents the winning design of a competition organized in 2019.

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Snøhetta, the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), and the New York Public Library (NYPL) unveiled designs for a new 12,000-square-foot branch library in the Westchester Square neighborhood of The Bronx, NYC. Inspired by the surrounding greenery, the energy-efficient building will be wrapped in pastoral print fritted glass, defining the new structure as an important economic and educational node within the neighborhood. Construction on the new Library is anticipated to start during mid-to-late 2023.

New York’s Museum of Sex announces its expansion to Miami in spring 2023 with a 3000-square-meters museum designed by the international studio Snøhetta. The converted warehouse will feature three extensive exhibition galleries, retail space, and a bar to preserve, present, and celebrate the cultural significance of human sexuality in one of the most vibrant and diverse arts communities in the USA. The inaugural program will include work by Hajime Sorayama and Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival, the museum’s main immersive experience.

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550 Madison Avenue (née the AT&T Building, more recently Sony Plaza) is among the more recognizable figures on New York’s skyline. Designed by architect-provocateur Philip Johnson, the 37-story skyscraper stands out thanks to its curious headgear: a classical pediment broken by a circular notch, inviting frequent comparisons to the top of a Chippendale grandfather clock. A singular, if largely inoffensive presence on today’s icon-heavy streetscape, the design was positively shocking on its debut in 1979, when Johnson himself appeared on the cover of Time holding a model of the project, then still four years from completion. The image heralded the arrival of something new in American architecture: the fading of the flat-crowned Modernist towers of the midcentury and the onset of the Postmodernist wave.

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The Natural History Museum Of Lille in France will undertake a significant architectural transformation for its 200th anniversary. Snøhetta, selected to restore and modernize the complex, with a transdisciplinary team featuring the scenographer Adeline Rispal and the landscape architects of Taktyk, imagines a renovation that will support the city's ambition to combine urban renewal with the preservation of the city's historic architecture. Planned for completion in 2025 and with a total of 7,500 m², the restoration will accommodate flexible exhibition areas, more extensive storage, and gardens.

Data centers, automated assembly lines, telecommunications facilities, and warehouses represent a very utilitarian aspect of the built environment, and yet they compose a particular kind of infrastructure within contemporary society, one that is fundamental to the development of everyday life. Rarely discussed within the profession, these new typologies have more recently penetrated the architectural discourse, raising questions about the architectural significance and design potential of the spaces sustaining the mechanics of today's world.

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Snøhetta+Hassell were selected by competition to redesign Harbourside in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Expected to kick off in 2023, the 42-story residential tower and the 13500 square meters of public spaces will extend along the over 240 meters of water frontage within Sydney's iconic Darling Harbor area. Property developer Mirvac target to achieve 5 and 6 Star Green Star and WELL ratings, making the project one of Australia's most sustainable districts.

Snøhetta has unveiled the design of its largest project in Japan to date, the Shibuya Upper West Project for Tokyu Corporation, L Catterton Real Estate, and Tokyu Department Store. The project aims to offer cultural experiences in tune with the vibrant Shibuya district of Tokyo, known for its bustling crowds, big screens, and the crossing in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō. The 36-story tower will include a cultural complex, retail spaces, a contemporary hotel, and rental residencies.

In Mexico, until recently, unknown to many, an architectural project has been slowly revealing itself to society. The Environmental Sciences Museum (MCA for its Spanish acronym) of the University of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco is one of the most ambitious architectural projects in Western Mexico. Not only because of its unusual architecture but also because of how it seeks to communicate the mission of a natural history museum, one that can hardly be called traditional.

Along with the participation of thousands of designers, artists, and craftsmen at this year's 2022 Salone del Mobile at Milan's Rho Fiera, renowned architects collaborated with some of the biggest local and international manufacturers to create installations, products, materials, and furniture pieces that explore the future of living, as part of the annual Fuorisalone.

This year's architectural contributions, which were on display across the busy streets of Milan, Brera design district and botanical garden, Alcova, BASE, and other cultural venues, highlighted this year's Milan Design Week theme of sustainability and environmental awareness with respect to furniture production.

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The City of Prague announced the international competition results for the design of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall. The winning project is designed by Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group – BIG. The new concert hall aims to become a focal point for the city and reinforce Prague's reputation as a European cultural capital. The proposed volume of the new Philharmonic Hall presents a recognizable image while also being well integrated into the complex topography of the Vltava riverbank. Visitors are invited to follow the meandering series of plazas connected by sloping roofs that take them from the riverbank to the rooftop, promising views of the historic city center of Prague. Spanish architecture practice Barozzi Veiga collaborated with local office Atelier M1 and won second place. Bevk Perović Arhitekti and Petr Hájek Architekti won third and fourth place, respectively, while Snøhetta's proposal was declared the fifth winner.

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Snøhetta was founded on the United Nations 1987 Brundtland Commission’s three main pillars of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental protection, and social equality. Their highly value and purpose-driven operations has since then expanded to 330 employees in 7 studios all over the world, from hometown Oslo to Adelaide, HongKong, Paris and Innsbrück, as well as their sister studios in New York and San Fransisco.