Helen & Hard

Helen & Hard

Stortingsgata 12, 0161 Oslo, Norway

https://helenhard.no/

Sustainable Architecture from Norway

Helen & Hard is a Norwegian architecture firm founded in 1996 in Stavanger, with offices in both Stavanger and Oslo. The team consists of 26 professionals from various nations and diverse cultural backgrounds, contributing to an innovative and multidisciplinary design approach. The firm is involved in a wide range of architectural projects, including private residences, cultural buildings, multifunctional commercial complexes, and urban development interventions. In each project, Helen & Hard values the unique potential of the local site conditions, aiming to harmonize functional needs with a sustainable vision rooted in the environmental context.

Iconic Projects and International Recognition

Among Helen & Hard's most famous works are the Vennesla Library, a cultural and social center that combines wood and glass to create a welcoming and innovative environment, and Vindmøllebakken, a residential project based on principles of sharing and sustainability. Due to their commitment to ecologically conscious and socially beneficial architecture, the firm has received numerous accolades, including the Storebrand Eiendoms Bærekraftspris 2023 for the Innoasis project and the Holzbaupreis Tirol 2023 in the Housing category for Vindmøllebakken. With each project, Helen & Hard continues to redefine the relationship between architecture, nature, and community, placing sustainability and innovation at the core of their research.

PROJECTS

Two tree houses in Woodnest, on the steep woodland hills around Hardangerfjord

Woodnest, two shelters like nests among the branches overlooking the horizon

Woodnest, two treehouses on the steep wooded hills around the Hardangerfjord. A project where architecture is a specific response to the topography and conditions of the site itself. Each treehouse is suspended 5-6m above the forest floor and secured with a steel collar to the trunk of a pine tree.
Vindmậllebakken, social cohousing. A wooden architecture that focuses on sharing

Vindmậllebakken, social cohousing. A wooden architecture that focuses on sharing

Vindmậllebakken is a modern housing typology that meets human, social and environmental needs in a sustainable way. The entire development includes 40 co-living units, 4 townhouses and 10 apartments
Gudbrandslie Cabin, a spruce chalet inspired its shape by the landscape

Gudbrandslie Cabin, a spruce chalet inspired its shape by the landscape

The Gudbrandslie Cabin is located near Tyinkrysset, Filefjell, on a beautiful site right on the edge of Jotunheimen National Park in Norway