Survey
01We measure the site ourselves before we draw on it.
Levels, light, neighbours, ground. A week on site saves a month of redrawing.
00Architecture · Interiors · Landscape
Every building
begins as
a line.
Arch Studio is a practice of 31 architects, interior and landscape designers in Copenhagen, Porto and Montréal. We draw everything first, by hand and at scale, and we build only what the drawing can defend.
01Studio
EST. 2011
- FOUNDED 2011
- PEOPLE 31
- FOCUS Public, residential
- LOCATION Copenhagen / Porto / Montréal
We make buildings that explain themselves. You should be able to read how one stands up, where its light comes from and what it is made of, without being told.
About the studio02Selected projects
01/04
cultural · Aarhus, Denmark
Nine Lights Library
A public library on a former ferry quay, lit from a north-facing sawtooth roof.
- Year
- 2025
- Area
- 4 850 m²
- Status
- Built
- Client
- Harbour Culture Trust
- 01/04
cultural · Aarhus, Denmark
Nine Lights Library
A public library on a former ferry quay, lit from a north-facing sawtooth roof.
- Year
- 2025
- Area
- 4 850 m²
- Status
- Built
- Client
- Harbour Culture Trust
- 02/04
residential · Porto, Portugal
Fornalha House
A single-storey house built around the brick kiln that once stood on the plot.
- Year
- 2024
- Area
- 240 m²
- Status
- Built
- Client
- Private
- 03/04
commercial · Montréal, Canada
Fonderie Nord Offices
Four floors of workspace on a tight urban lot, with a timber frame left on show.
- Year
- 2023
- Area
- 6 400 m²
- Status
- Built
- Client
- Fonderie Nord Estates
- 04/04
landscape · Lillehammer, Norway
Larch Pavilion
A park, a pond and a small timber pavilion on a reclaimed gravel works.
- Year
- 2021
- Area
- 1.8 ha
- Status
- Built
- Client
- Lågen Park Foundation
03Approach
Four habits we do not skip
The same sequence on a cabin and on a library. It is slower at the start and faster at the end.
Draw
02Plan, section and model move forward together.
No stage is finished in one view. If the section is wrong, the plan is wrong.
Test
03Full-size mock-ups before anything is ordered.
A corner of the facade, a stair tread, a window reveal: built, looked at, changed.
Build
04The architect who drew it is on site every week.
The same small team from first sketch to handover. No handoffs between stages.
04Services
[06]
- 01ArchitectureNew buildings from first brief to handover
- 02InteriorFit-out, joinery and furniture
- 03Urban planningMasterplans and development frameworks
- 04LandscapeGardens, parks and the ground between buildings
- 05RenovationListed buildings, retrofits and extensions
- 06ConsultancyBriefs, feasibility and design review
05In numbers
2011–2026
- Years in practice01
- 14
- Projects built02
- 86
- People in three offices03
- 31
- Awards and commendations04
- 23
06Journal
Notes from the drawing board
Practice14 OCT 20267 min
Drawing is how we think
Why the section comes before the plan in our studio, and what a line can decide that a sentence cannot.
Process02 SEP 20265 min
Why we still build models at 1:50
A model is slow, expensive and impossible to email. It is also the only drawing a client reads without help.
Site notes21 JUL 20269 min
Notes from the Nine Lights site
Fourteen months of weekly site visits, written up: what went to plan, what did not, and what we would draw differently.
07Clients and recognition
- Harbour Culture Trust
- Fonderie Nord Estates
- Museu da Ria
- Lågen Park Foundation
- Brenner Textiles
- Gantry Shed Co-operative
- Outer Harbour Trust
- Lachine Mill Co-op
- 2025Nordic Public Building PrizeNine Lights LibraryWinner
- 2024Iberian Brick AwardFornalha HouseWinner
- 2024Laurentian Timber PrizeFonderie Nord OfficesCommended
- 2022Northern Landscape MedalLarch PavilionWinner
- 2021Nordic Cabin PrizeLeeward CabinShortlisted
08Contact
Have a site, a brief, or only a question?
Tell us what you have. We reply within two working days, and a first meeting costs nothing.
- Copenhagen
- +45 00 00 00 00
- Porto
- +351 000 000 000
- Montréal
- +1 000 000 0000