Reiulf Ramstad Awarded the Nykredit Foundation Architecture Prize 2026.

One of Scandinavia’s most prestigious architecture prizes has been awarded to Reiulf Ramstad, architect MAA and Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, founder and design director of Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.

Presented since 1987, the prize is a significant recognition of architectural quality, cultural importance, and professional depth. It is awarded to architects whose work has made an outstanding contribution to architecture and the built environment. With this year’s award to Reiulf Ramstad, attention is drawn to an architectural body of work that over several decades has given form to the relationship between people, landscape, place, and time.

Ramstad’s architecture does not arise from the arbitrary or the purely formal. It emerges from an encounter with the character of the landscape, with the resistance of topography, with light, materials, and human movement through space. His buildings do not seek to dominate a place, but to make it legible. They create presence. They allow the landscape to come forward as lived experience.

The awarding of the Nykredit Foundation Architecture Prize 2026 therefore marks more than a personal honor. It affirms the significance of an architectural life’s work that has helped renew the language of Nordic architecture. In Ramstad’s work, the Nordic does not appear as a style, but as an attitude: an attentiveness to the landscape, a restraint in means, a respect for the weight of materials, and a search for spatial meaning.

“Architecture, for us, is a way of understanding the world. A building is never merely an object; it is a situation, a transition, a place where people encounter landscape, light, weather, memory, and community. To receive the Nykredit Foundation Architecture Prize is a great honor, and a powerful recognition of the work to which we have devoted ourselves,” says Reiulf Ramstad.

Throughout his career, Ramstad has achieved a distinct international position. At the same time, his architecture has retained a strong grounding in the experiences of the Nordic landscapes: the weight of the mountains, the direction of the valleys, the openness of the coast, the stillness of the forest, and the layered life of the city.

His work demonstrates that the task of architecture is not only to provide space for function, but to give people a sense of foothold. The building becomes an intermediary between earth and sky, between the everyday and the meaningful, between individual life and the larger context of which we are all part.

“We have always worked from the conviction that architecture must be both precise and humane. It must be able to withstand use, time, and weather, but it must also be able to open a sense of wonder. It is in this connection between the necessary and the poetic that architecture finds its deepest meaning,” says Ramstad.

The Nykredit Foundation works to support initiatives in Danish business and industry, particularly within the construction sector, including by highlighting projects that set new architectural and cultural standards. Previous recipients include leading Danish architects such as Jørn Utzon, Henning Larsen, Bjarke Ingels, and Jan Gehl. The award ceremony took place on Thursday 28 May 2026 in Copenhagen.

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter joins Verka Collective

The internationally acclaimed Norwegian-Danish architecture firm Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter is joining Verka Collective. With its strong architectural footprint and multiple internationally recognized projects, the practice is regarded as one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Scandinavian architecture. With the addition of Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, Verka Collective strengthens its presence in Norway and Denmark, while also bringing one of the Nordic region’s most renowned architecture practices into the group.

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter is known for architecture of international standing and has, over many years, distinguished itself through a number of significant projects within cultural buildings, most recently the Danish National Gallery of Denmark (SMK) in Thy, public institutions including Gothenburg Central Station, as well as transformation and residential projects where landscape and architecture are integrated. The practice has gained international recognition for its ability to create architecture that combines a strong design identity with substantial societal value.

“Architecture, for us, is about more than buildings. It is about creating meaningful frameworks for people’s lives—in the interplay between landscape, light, materials, and community. When architecture succeeds, it gives places character and a sense of belonging, and helps shape societies where people feel at home,” says Reiulf Ramstad.

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter joining Verka Collective marks an important step in the group’s strategy to bring together strong architecture firms on a shared European platform, where local practices retain their identity and leadership while gaining access to a stronger strategic and organizational foundation.

“Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter represents architecture at the very highest level and adds a strong design profile to our collective, Verka Collective. With their international recognition and strong position in the Nordic region, they are an important contribution to Verka Collective’s continued development,” says Sonja Stockmarr, CCO of Verka Collective.

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter will continue, like the group’s other companies, under its own name, led by Kristin and Reiulf Ramstad. The Danish presence will primarily be based in Copenhagen. As part of Verka Collective, the practice will also gain access to a stronger network, increased project capacity, and enhanced collaboration across the group’s companies.

“By becoming part of Verka Collective, we gain a strong strategic foundation for our continued development. We retain our architectural identity while also gaining new opportunities for collaboration and larger projects,” says Kristin Ramstad, CEO of Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.

The architecture industry in Europe is increasingly characterized by consolidation, with practices pooling expertise to better handle larger and more complex projects, as well as rising demands for sustainability and digitalization. Verka Collective is actively working to build a platform that combines architectural quality and strong local practices with strategic strength and international reach.

Less than a month ago, Verka Collective launched a growth strategy with the ambition of bringing together more than 1,000 employees by the end of 2028. At the same time, the collective announced the acquisition of the German architecture firm Heine Plan in Hamburg, and with the latest addition of Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, Verka Collective is now significantly strengthening its position in Northern Europe.