The internationally known firm, based in Oslo, Snøhetta, wins the 2020 National Design Award for Architecture bestowed by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The event took place virtually for the first time due to the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic; the trans-disciplinary studio was selected for the impact of their designs, particularly in the areas of social and environmental sustainability.
The Norwegian firm Snøhetta is an architectural firm, founded in 1989 by Craig Edward Dykers and Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. Since its inception, Snøhetta is believed to design some of the world’s most remarkable projects spanning across the globe. Their projects range in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and product design. This trans-disciplinary firm has enhanced the world of architecture and design by its sustainable and equitable architecture that has been proven to improve the relationship of communities and their natural habitat.
“Snøhetta was established on the belief that we can go further if we go together, and we have a long way to go. In a year such as this one, where we are facing many challenges in the field of design and in the world at large. We are honoured to receive the National Design Award and be recognized for our achievements in sustainability and socially conscious design. With this award, we feel empowered to continue to push the envelope of what great design can do,” said Craig Dykers, one of the founding partners of the firm.
Snøhetta is known to have seven offices across the globe, located in: Oslo, Norway and New York City with studios in San Francisco, California, Innsbruck, Austria, Paris, France, Hong Kong, China, Adelaide, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. Some of the most exceptional projects by this firm include the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California, the Calgary Public Library in Canada, the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion and Times Square in New York, House Zero a zero-emissions sustainable research prototype at Harvard University, and the Ford Motor Company’s new Research & Engineering Campus in Michigan.
