Among the most notable achievements of Scandinavian architecture are a responsible approach to the environment and a keen appreciation for social concerns. The Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen (founded in 1986, with offices in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Oslo, and London) reflect these standards in their remarkable buildings. They attach great importance to the practicality of the structures they design and to their integration into the real context of their surroundings and their users.

This monograph presents a selection of their twenty best structures and projects of recent years (from Denmark, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, England, the Czech Republic, and Saudi Arabia). All the designs are depicted and analyzed according to the following themes: economic, ecological, and social sustainability; the value the building adds to its surroundings; the building’s identity-forming power; and permeability between the public and private spheres.