Petry Retreat.
Taking a stance “A good architect designs a building in interaction with its specific surroundings and the people who will live there,” says Jesper Korf, co-owner of N+P ARKITEKTUR, nominated for Denmark’s Architecture Award. “You have to take some kind of stance in relation to the building’s location, otherwise you fail. The building can emphasise its surroundings or it can juxtapose its surroundings, but you can’t fall in between. If you do, you will get a dull building.” By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: N+P ARKITEKTUR
The three architects at N+P ARKITEKTUR like a challenge, whether it comes in the shape of a villa or a block of student flats. “The projects may be very different from one another, but they all have in common that these buildings need to have a positive impact on the people who’ll live there. We’re very good at figuring out the way people will live in what we build, I think, and accommodating that,” says co-owner Lars Bo Poulsen, who founded 76 | Issue 129 | October 2019
N+P ARKITEKTUR back in 2005 together with the final co-owner and fellow architect, Thomas Nørkær. “Each project is different, and they all express something unique. Being an architect is fun. We get to meet and work with very exciting people, who trust us to create something for them that’s even better than they expected. That relationship is really the reason why people make use
of architects instead of just moving into a cookie-cutter house,” Poulsen continues. “We gain a lot by getting to know our clients really well too: architecture can’t be done in a vacuum. Each house, flat or commercial building gains a lot of personality and character through the people who’ll live there.” The three architects often work on the projects in pairs. “Two architect brains are better than one, and it’s great to get to bounce ideas off one-another,” Poulsen explains. In addition to taking care of the practical and technical sides of the build, architects become master mediators going between the council, the builders and the client to make the construction phase as smooth as possible. “We know how to prepare a project and how to pres-