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Helen & Hard Architects

@helenhardarchitects

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A Norwegian relational design practice based in Oslo and Stavanger.

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Timber

2025 has been a rich and eventful year for Helen & Hard. We have worked on a revised strategy, focusing on transformation, relational wood systems, social environments and housing to create meaningful, future-oriented architecture. This is the second post of a series leading up to 2026, that will showcase some of the projects we have worked on this year.

At the Arsenale of this years Venice Biennale, we presented six projects with relational wood systems; timber structures with integrated infrastructure, furniture, and unique spatial qualities. In New York, a listed townhouse with such an integrated design is currently under construction, and this autumn the design phase of the Vest-Agder Museum was initiated. Here the timber structure is inspired by elements from traditional boatbuilding.

We also celebrate the growth of our team in both Oslo and Stavanger, and we are now greatly looking forward to our 30-year anniversary in 2026.

Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

¹ Town house, New York with @leroystreetstudio @spearhead.ca
² Vest-Agder Museum @vestagdermuseet
³ ⁴ Relational Wood Systems, Venice Biennale 2025 by @helenhardarchitects

We have been deeply engaged in an exciting Advanced Timber project in New York City, collaborating with an exceptional client and an incredible team comprising a design architect from Norway, specialty timber engineers from Switzerland, and an architect of record and engineer of record from New York.

Demonstration projects like this serve as catalysts for innovation in advanced processes, driving progress in materials and methods across our industry.

Swipe right to see a few of the recent progress images of the double curvature. by @helenhardarchitects

Arkitektbedriftenes Andrea Thiis-Evensen blir med Siv Helene Stangeland opp på taket til Helen & Hards nybygg i landbrukskvartalet. Der får vi høre om tankene bak dette bygget, hvorfor Siv Helene selv ble arkitekt og prosjektene til Helen & Hard hun er mest stolt av. Hele episoden med Siv Helene Stangeland ligger ute i På Taket episoden til Arkitektbedriftene. #arkitektur #landbrukskvartalet #nybygg by @helenhardarchitects

At Finansparken in Stavanger, Norway, the use of timber goes beyond the main structural elements. Completed in 2019, the seven-storey, 14,000 m² building serves as the headquarters of SpareBank 1 SR-Bank.

One of its most distinctive features is the timber-to-timber connection system, which eliminates the need for steel connections in the primary timber structure.

At @degree_of_freedom, we were part of the competition-winning team alongside @helenhardarchitects and @saahaoslo, contributing structural engineering expertise from the initial competition through concept, preliminary and detailed design, as well as technical support during construction.

The project received the Norwegian Building of the Year Award and Norwegian Timber Building of the Year Award in 2019, followed by Stavanger Municipality's Byggeskikksprisen in 2020.

Developed for SpareBank 1 SR-Bank in collaboration with @helenhardarchitects, @saahaoslo and Création Holz.

Video: Sindre Ellingsen
#DegreeofFreedom #StructuralEngineering #EngineeringtheUnthinkable #TimberEngineering #MassTimber by @helenhardarchitects

👋🏻 Hils på Espen! Han er geolog, og har et steinbra øye for gneis. 🤩

Fjellveggen han står foran er så fin at vi har bygget VIGA rundt den. Fra 2028 kan du se den inne i museet! Hva ser du egentlig? La Espen fortelle deg 🛘 by @helenhardarchitects

Another step closer as the solid timber staircase is lifted into place at Schweigaarden.

Crafted entirely from Norwegian solid timber and prefabricated by Splitkon, the staircase is made from around 2,000 spruce trees, storing 460 tons of CO2 over the building’s lifetime.

Positioned at the heart of the building, it connects the social zones of the office landscape, forming the building’s social core.

Schweigaarden is the gateway to Landbrukskvartalet, and the first new building in this major transformation of central Oslo.

Read more about the project on our website.

https://helenhard.no/work/schweigaarden/

Photos: Åsmund Holien Mo @asmundasmund @bowoslo

@aspelinreitan @norgesbondelag @vedal_as @splitkon @landbrukskvartalet_oslo

#timberarchitecture #nordicarchitecture #officearchitecture by @helenhardarchitects

Yesterday, the Grosch Medal was awarded to Siv Helene Stangeland and Reinhard Kropf, to the great joy of all of us at Helen & Hard.

It is a great honour, and it feels especially meaningful as it coincides with our 30th anniversary. At a time when architectural quality is under pressure, yet more important than ever, this recognition means a lot.

The jury writes that we have changed “not only how architecture looks, but also how it is made, initiated, developed and used”.

This has only been possible together with others. We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to our clients, including the municipalities and public bodies who have trusted us. To the developers, engineers, consultants, builders and craftspeople who transform ideas into reality. To the neighbours, artists, students, residents and local organisations whose participation and feedback have shaped our projects, and to everyone who has supported us along the way. And of course to our colleagues, past and present, whose creativity and commitment drive everything we do.

Thank you also to the Grosch Society, the jury and @nasjonalmuseet for this recognition. We look forward to continuing to explore, together, what architecture can be.

Photos by Annar Bjørkli, Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design.

The press release and the jury’s statement can be read here:

https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/pressemelding/19105120/arkitekturpriser-til-nytenkere-biblioteker-bolighus-og-turistveganlegg?publisherId=17849085&lang=no by @helenhardarchitects

– Å få Groschmedaljen føles betydningsfullt, inspirerende og bevegende, sier Siv Helene Stangeland og Reinhard Kropf i Helen & Hard.

Det var stor festivitas på Nasjonalmuseet torsdag, da Stangeland og Kropf mottok Groschmedaljen.

Les mer på arkitektur.no

Foto: Torgeir Holljen Thon/Minna Soujoki/Erieta Attali by @helenhardarchitects

Groschmedaljen 2026 går til Siv Helene Stangeland og Reinhard Kropf, grunnleggerne av arkitektkontoret Helen & Hard, for deres «nytenkende arkitektur og for den store betydningen deres praksis og prosjekter har hatt for utviklingen av norsk arkitektur».

Paret fikk medaljen av juryleder Joakim Skajaa og kultur- og likestillingsminister Lubna Jaffery under et arrangement i Sverre Fehn-paviljongen på Arkitekturmuseet i Oslo torsdag 15. oktober.

Samtidig ble fem prosjekter tildelt Houens fonds diplom (bilde 3, se også eget innlegg).

Les også mer om tildelingene i vårt tidsskrift arkitektur.no.

Foto fra tildelingen: Annar Bjørkli, Nasjonalmuseet For Kunst, Arkitektur Og Design. Foto fra Vindmøllebakken (Helen & Hard): Minna Soujoki/Helen & Hard by @helenhardarchitects

Det er gøy å se et museum vokse opp fra bakken! 🤩 Noe av det som har skjedd i det siste:

🏗️ Krana er på plass - nå blir det bygging!
🛘 Fjellveggen er ferdig kuttet, og alle kan se hvor vakker gneisen er!
🦎 Salamanderhotellet er klart for overnattingsgjester
🧱 Vi har begynt på 1 etasje og gulv.

Her skjer det noe hver dag! Følg med, og still gjerne spørsmål om det er noe du lurer på rundt byggingen av vårt nye museum, VIGA. by @helenhardarchitects

Fasaden på Schweigaarden i Landbrukskvartalet er på plass mot Schweigaards gate, og byggingen går etter planen.
Synlige tresøyler og keramiske elementer i en klar terrakottatone skal gi gaten mer varme. Fargen er hentet fra teglbyggene i kvartalet, og de profilerte elementene gir fasaden dybde.
Nå gjenstår resten av fasadene før vinteren, og så starter arbeidet innendørs.
Arkitekt: @helenhardarchitects by @helenhardarchitects

Wood is not just a building material, it comes from living organisms and is deeply rooted in Norwegian culture.

On the west coast of Norway, there is a rich tradition of using different parts of trees and different types of wood in shipbuilding and architecture. For example, the root-stem connection, traditionally used as a structural bracket in boat frames, also serves to stiffen building structures.

This direct engagement with the material, the morphology of trees, and traditional boatbuilding techniques combined with digital tools, inspired a 15-year research process.

We first explored these ideas in a pavilion for the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beautiful ash trees were felled, split, and scanned. Using precise 3D models, we designed the connections and programmed CNC milling.

We continued this approach in several projects, including a rest area along the Hardangerfjord, where tree trunks with roots form two cylindrical structures.

One of our latest projects, Vest-Agder Museum, draws on wood morphology and boatbuilding traditions, using characteristic timber brackets to shape pavilions and a wooden bridge.

Later, we applied the same principles to our own cabin, reinterpreting traditional boathouse construction using root-stem connections.

Read more on our website: helenhard.no/work

#timberarchitecture by @helenhardarchitects