Helen & Hard

Helen & Hard is a Norwegian relational design practice based in Stavanger and Oslo. We are a collective of 27 people from many different countries and cultural backgrounds. Sustainability has been at the core of our practice since we were established in 1996. We believe that creating spaces that provide rich experiential qualities is an essential part of making sustainable architecture. Architecture can inspire us, lift us up, and help us connect and engage with people and our environments in more meaningful ways. It can transform everyday situations into creative opportunities, and our task is to make this possible. Across all projects from housing, to offices, schools, installation and cultural buildings, we aim to combine beauty with rationality, and efficiency with sustainability. These values are achieved through our four areas of expertise – organic timber architecture, transformation, social sustainability and systematic design. Today, Helen & Hard are among the leading timber architects in Scandinavia, with several award-winning projects for innovative advancements in timber architecture. We believe timber is the material for a sustainable future, with the ability to provide unique spatial experiences alongside healthy, beautiful environments. Our methods are inspired by the systems and processes found in ecology, namely the study of how the components of an ecosystem relate to each other and the environment. We focus on social sustainability, designing for, and with people. We look closely at how communities develop and thrive. Our aim is to co-create spaces where people can meet and interact in meaningful ways: in their living spaces, workplaces and within flourishing neighborhoods. We also have rich expertise in transformation. By transforming and interweaving old with new, our goal is to reduce the carbon footprint and to create evocative atmospheres drawn from memories of the past, along with rich spatial experiences to inspire the future.