Snøhetta (Context and concept: Selected works)

This monograph will bring fans of Snøhetta up-to-date with the most recent work by the practice and the intentions behind their designs, as well as their impact on occupants and the environment that surrounds each building.

With studios in Oslo, New York City, Innsbruck, Paris, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, the transdisciplinary practice covers architecture, landscape, interior, and product design. Snøhetta often integrates a combination of these interests across global projects—from the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo—with the intention of creating places where people can connect with one another and the world around them. Featuring a selection of recent projects, this book highlights the practice’s design philosophy, working methods, and sensibilities.

Conceived by their chief designer Henrik Haugen, this book stylishly conveys what the practice considers important when it comes to designing buildings, products, and interiors, as well as its more general intents and stated environmental credentials. These are world-class buildings—such as the soon-to-open Shanghai Grand Opera House—often produced in collaboration with artists, like Olafur Eliasson and José Parlá. Texts by Unit Editions founder Adrian Shaughnessy are interspersed throughout, bringing his thoughtful decades-long reflections on the work to bear.