The Henning Larsen Foundation honors architects Søren Pihlmann and Kim Lenchow
This year, the foundation awards Danish architects Kim Lenschow and Søren Pihlmann 50,000 DKK each on the late founder's birthday, August 20.
Kim Lenschow and Søren Pihlmann met as architecture students, and after graduating in 2014 they founded lenschow & pihlmann united by a mutual interest in materials and the building process. Recently, however, they have decided to pursue new directions in architecture in separate offices. Thus, in the motivation, the foundation honors Søren Pihlmann and Kim Lenchow both for the projects they have designed together as lenschow & pihlmann, and for the expectations to their upcoming work as individual architects.
“In your work materials is the star. You free the materials from form and concept and insist that all materials have a role to play. In your architecture, materials are what, scent is to memory, they create a sensory connection between people, space, time, and place. That makes your architecture appear both recognizable and refreshingly new at the same time,” says Simon Ingvartsen, Design Director at Henning Larsen and board member of the foundation.
In the foundation’s motivation, Simon Ingvartsen also highlighted how the two architect’s common starting point is heading in different directions with their new companies:
“Pihlmann Architects is focused on making the tasks larger and accessible to more people. A good example of this is the Bikuben Foundation project, which transforms an unremarkable office property from the late 60s using recycled materials and building parts transplanted from the existing building; decks are removed and become stairs, atrium, and tables, and window parapets are dismantled and become external coverings and larger openings towards the surroundings.”
“The work and interest sphere of Kim Lenschow Office is wide-ranging. They work investigatively and poetically with details and materiality, the properties of materials, joints, and expressions with a clear ambition that the projects can mean more to many by also being part of an academic and communication-oriented space, where the projects are made available for discussion and inspiration for others,” Ingvartsen continued.
Søren Pihlmann and Kim Lenschow were celebrated at a reception on Saturday, August 20, in the King’s Garden of Copenhagen. They each receive 50.000 DKK.
About the Henning Larsen Foundation
Henning Larsen's Foundation was founded with private funds by architect Henning Larsen in 2001 and since then has made distributions every year on the founder's birthday, 20 August.
The foundation, which is non-profit and charitable, aims to support Danish architecture in the broadest sense. Several Danish architects have received the award, and the Foundation has held international competitions for architectural photography, architectural drawing, as well as writing about architecture.
The board of Henning Larsen's Foundation consists of architect Troels Troelsen (chairman), architect and managing director of Danish Architecture Center Kent Martinussen, architect Ingela Larsson, architect Simon Ingvartsen, MA Bente Scavenius, MSc. Lone Backe and lawyer Niels Bang.
Images by Agnete Schlichtkrull.