Schmidt Hammer Lassen

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Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL)
Danish Royal Library, Copenhagen
Practice information
Partners	Kristian Ahlmark Chris Hardie Elif Tinaztepe Kasper Frandsen Mads Kaltoft Sanne Wall-Gremstrup
Founded	1986 (1986)
Location	Copenhagen, Denmark Aarhus, Denmark Shanghai, China

Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) is an international architectural firm founded by a group of Danish architects in 1986 in Aarhus, Denmark. It currently has three offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark, as well as Shanghai, China. In 2018, Schmidt Hammer Lassen became part of global architecture and design firm Perkins and Will.

Notable projects include the national library of Denmark The Royal Library (Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen, the ARoS Kunstmuseum in Aarhus, DOKK1, the largest public library in Scandinavia and named by IFLA International Federation of Library Associations as Public Library of the Year in 2016, and Shanghai Library East, one of China's largest new library's which opened in September 2022. The studio is currently designing the tallest residential high-rise constructed primarily in timber, known as Rocket & Tigerli in Winterthur, Switzerland, and a new Opera House and Performing Arts venue, known as Green Heart Grand Theatre, in Beijing, China.

History

Schmidt Hammer Lassen was established in 1986 by Morten Schmidt, Bjarne Hammer and John F. Lassen.

The current group of Principals includes Kristian Lars Ahlmark, Chris Hardie, Elif Tinaztepe, Kasper Heiberg Frandsen, Mads Kaltoft, and Sanne Wall-Gremstrup.

The practice had its first major project with the Katuaq Culture Centre in Nuuk, Greenland, completed in 1997. The project in Nuuk was followed by first prize in the international competition for the extension of the Danish Royal Library on the harborfront in Copenhagen. The library extension, also known as the Black Diamond, was completed in 1999.

Another major project is the ARoS Art Museum in Aarhus, Denmark, which was completed in 2004. In May 2011 the art work Your rainbow panorama, by Olafur Eliasson, was officially unveiled on the roof top of the museum.

In 2010 Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects won the competition to design the first permanent premises for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. The project was completed in 2015.

In 2011 Schmidt Hammer Lassen established an studio in Shanghai, to serve their increasing client base in Asia. Completed projects include the Ningbo New Library in Ningbo, China (2019), China's largest new Library Shanghai Library East, (2023), the world's largest Waste to Energy Power Plant called the Shenzhen Energy Ring (2024). Projects due for completion soon include the Beijing Center for Performing Arts in Tongzhou, Beijing, China due for completion in 2024, and West Bund Grand Theatre in Shanghai (due late 2024).

Product design

The current product range includes light fixtures for Philips Lighting, Lampas and Focus, indoor furniture Piiroinen and DJOB Montana, outdoor street furniture for Veksoe. Designs include the Flakes chair, the Focus Lighting, Idea Water Fixtures and the Swan Neck. The design department also creates unique pieces such as the sculptural receptions desk at Danfoss.

Selected works

Completed

• 
  Thor Heyerdahl College in Larvik, Norway
• 
  ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, interior

In progress

Awards

• The Black Diamond in Copenhagen
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References

Further reading

• Marianne Ibler (2007) Global Danish Architecture #2 – Housing. Copenhagen, Denmark: Archipress
• schmidt hammer lassen (1999) The Royal Library – Architectural Images. Copenhagen, Denmark: Gyldendal
• Forster et al. (2005) 10x10_2. London, UK: Phaidon
• schmidt hammer lassen architects (2008) Outline – architecture by schmidt hammer lassen, Birkhäuser Verlag

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schmidt hammer lassen.

• Official website
• Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Denmark studio via Perkins and Will
• Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Shanghai studio via Perkins and Will