On September 21, the world celebrates Arbor Day, a date aimed at raising awareness about environmental conservation. During childhood, we establish relationships with nature that become deeply rooted in our imagination, eventually evolving to influence architectural design. We have selected 22 projects of various uses that draw inspiration from our relationship with nature and this shared imagination.
Scandinavia is shaped by environmental conditions that test both human endurance and architectural ingenuity, with long winters defined by limited daylight, low sun angles, deep snowfall, and cold winds that transform everyday movement, gathering, and habitation into deliberate acts. In this context, architecture is never neutral, and hospitality is never incidental. Buildings that welcome visitors across cities, forests, and coastlines must respond directly to darkness and cold, not by denying them, but by creating interior worlds that offer orientation, warmth, and psychological relief. The act of welcoming in Scandinavia is therefore inseparable from the climate, grounded in the understanding that shelter, light, and human presence are fundamental resources in Arctic environments.
