Two wins at the International Architecture Awards
We have received two awards from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture honoring the New Children and Youth Hospital in Bergen and the German Pavillion at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.
Both the New Children and Youth Hospital and the German Pavilion were awarded the International Architecture Award for 2026, presented by The Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture. The award marks the 21st year of the annual global building awards program that honors new and cutting-edge design worldwide.
New Children and Youth Hospital
Designed in collaboration with Schønherr, KHR Architecture and PKA Arkitekter, the hospital is guided by a forward-thinking vision for healthcare and centered on patients’ mental and physical well-being.
The 79,000 m² facility is broken down into smaller, intimate volumes that cascade along Bergen's mountainous terrain, creating welcoming spaces where natural light and views of the surrounding landscape become integral to the healing experience.
Guided by the belief that children should be children even when they are patients, the pediatric areas prioritize play and relaxation while ensuring a constant connection to the outside world. In the heart of the hospital, a lush garden filled with local vegetation offers fresh air and freedom of movement, linked to units through color-coded wayfinding and tactile art elements that encourage exploration.
One of the world’s first fully digital hospital construction projects, the children and youth hospital has set a new standard for energy efficiency in healthcare.
German Pavilion
Under the theme of 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives,' Wa! Germany, the German Pavilion invites visitors into a sensory oasis, offering an immersive experience that educates on the environmental impacts of architecture and its potential to shape the planet's future. The pavilion was designed in collaboration with Lava futures, facts and fiction, and Ryoku Garden.
Visitors enter the German Pavilion through a welcoming tree-covered square including a garden path that offers a peaceful escape, winding through paths with iris planting and a heavy rain trough that highlights the flow of water.
As visitors move through the space, they shift from shaded areas to light-filled sculpted meadows, framed by bamboo strips and shrubs that create privacy and guide the eye. Sunlight filters through the canopy, and the scent of flowers and earth enhances the sensory experience. The journey ends in a curved square, where an exhibit on biodiversity and urban nature invites reflection on the relationship between nature, design, and the future of urban spaces.
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