Swedish studio White Arkitekter has been named architect of the year at this week's Dezeen Awards 2023 ceremony.
Designers of the Year rewards the best emerging and established talent across architecture, interiors and design. It recognises those whose innovative work has made a notable impact on the industry.
On behalf of the studio, CEO Alexandra Hagen picked up the prize at the Dezeen Awards 2023 party this week, which was hosted in partnership with Bentley.
White Arkitekter was named architect of the year at Dezeen Awards 2023
White Arkitekter is an employee-owned design collective currently led by Hagen. With a tenure at the firm dating back to 2001, Hagen has held various roles, including international and regional director, before assuming the position of CEO in 2018.
Founded in 1951 by Sidney White in Gothenburg, the firm undertakes projects ranging from timber buildings to urban planning initiatives, all of which focus on sustainability, social impact and human-centric design.
Comprising over 700 employees across offices in Sweden, Norway, the UK, Canada and east Africa, the practice demonstrates its commitment to "collective thinking and participation" with 77 per cent of its workforce actively owning the organisation.
One of White Arkitekter's guiding principles is to "enable sustainable life through the art of architecture." In 2020, the firm pledged that every building it designs will be carbon neutral by 2030.
Hagen took home the award at the Dezeen Awards 2023 ceremony this week, which was held at Shoreditch Electric Light Station in London and was attended by shortlisted studios along with past and present judges.
"Scandinavia's largest architecture practice has the thoughtful output that you would expect of a much smaller studio," the judges said.
"Over 70 years since it was founded, the shared-ownership studio is a leading voice in the drive towards more sustainable buildings."
Amongst its notable projects is Sara Cultural Centre, a mass-timber building in Skellefteå, Sweden. Standing at 75 metres tall, the building features the world's second-tallest wooden tower.
Constructed from a combination of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam), the building is powered by renewable sources including a geothermal heat pump and solar panels.
According to the firm's 50-year lifecycle analysis, the building sequesters twice as much carbon as the embodied carbon emitted during its construction and has a projected lifespan of at least 100 years.
The firm has designed a multitude of hospitals and healthcare facilities, such as the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Gothenburg, which features playful design elements throughout the building to support children's development.
This includes climbing sculptures, play-therapy rooms, colourful signage and vibrant artwork, which aim to reduce any sense of intimidation upon entering the hospital.
Additionally, the hospital houses a temperature-controlled winter garden intended for children not well enough to venture outside. The space features expansive glazings that enable daylight to flood the space, creating a feeling of warmth and of being outdoors.
The studio recently completed the first wooden office building in Gothenburg called Nodi, which was designed to showcase the structural possibilities of wood.
The timber-framed building was designed in an "upside-down" configuration reminiscent of an inverted ziggurat. The building incorporates a series of cantilevers, which facilitate an incremental expansion of floor plates across the five storeys.
White Arkitekter was up against four other shortlisted studios in the architect of the year category, including French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh and US architecture firm MASS Design Group.
The Designers of the Year were nominated and shortlisted by Dezeen Awards judges and Dezeen's editorial team. A total of 31 studios, spanning 14 countries including South Africa, India, Nigeria and Mexico, were shortlisted for awards in six distinct Designers of the Year categories.
Each category's winner will be showcased in an exclusive video produced by Dezeen and sponsored by Bentley. The videos will be unveiled on Dezeen from November 30 to December 7.
Dezeen Awards 2023
Dezeen Awards celebrates the world's best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.