“We embrace what’s already there, and then we look for potential.”
Meet Søren Pihlmann, one of the pioneers of contemporary architecture, who aims to transform the way we live, build, and design.
”I feel the whole discussion about how we can build the future architecture still takes its starting point in a very old-fashioned way of looking at resources, where you accept that you always go out in nature to harvest and process new materials, so they become a building component later on in architecture. But when we look at the buildings being built today, most are actually in areas where you already have buildings.”
The global construction industry uses far too many resources and emits too much CO2. Far too often, buildings are demolished and their materials are discarded to make way for new houses. Not only is this approach unsustainable from a sustainability perspective, but it also overlooks the potential, not to mention the poetry, that is present in what exists.
”We have to be better at looking at the resources already processed, resources that we already put into this world, and not just for saving energy and resources, but also because they are embedded with many poetic qualities. They have traces of history. They have their own narratives. If we work with these materials in the right way, we can use them as a stepping stone to create architecture that works like a bridge between the past, the present, and potentially the future. I feel there is a huge potential in this, and in my opinion, it’s not really investigated right now.”
In recent years, this discussion about how we live, build and design our physical surroundings has gained a distinct Danish voice that is gaining global attention. Through several projects, architect Søren Pihlmann has demonstrated how houses can be transformed by reusing their inherent materials. This approach is exemplified by his recent transformation project, Thoravej 29 in Copenhagen, which was awarded Building of the Year 2024 in Denmark and reused 95% of the existing materials. In 2025, Søren Pihlmann curated the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale – a building that needed both climate protection and an overall upgrade. The renovation itself thus became an experimental exhibition that showcased how the materials themselves contributed to the pavilion’s future.
”The more we know, the better we can sense a place. The first thing we always do is try to gain a better understanding of what is present. We are registering the initial condition and the properties of the materials present. What are they capable of? What kind of environment does a specific material thrive in? How does it react together with the other materials? And can we, as architects and curators, alter that interaction?”
Søren Pihlmann (b. 1987) founded the Copenhagen-based office pihlmann architects in 2021. By exploring novel materials and re-evaluating existing ones, he strives to rethink conventional architectural perspectives. Examining the potential of both overproduced and underestimated materials, he combines them based on their inherent properties, creating compositions that evoke both familiarity and discovery.
In 2023, his project House14a received Denmark’s most prestigious architectural award, the Årets Arne, named after the celebrated modernist Arne Jacobsen. That same year, he was shortlisted for three Architectural Review awards, having previously received the Henning Larsen Foundation Honorary Award in 2022.
His innovative practice has led to his appointment as the curator of the Danish Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura di Venezia in 2025. As mentioned above, the exhibition will incorporate the renovation of the pavilion itself as part of its concept. The architectural philosophy underpinning his work emphasises the potential of existing materials and resources, challenging how we continue to build by focusing on what we already have. This approach is exemplified by his recent transformation project, Thoravej 29, which was awarded Building of the Year 2024 in Denmark and reused 95% of the existing materials.
Marc-Christoph Wagner and Simon Weyhe have been documenting Søren Pihlmann’s work for the last three years and interviewed him on multiple occasions during this period.
Camera: Simon Weyhe
Edited by: Simon Weyhe
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner & Simon Weyhe
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2025
Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, and C.L. Davids Fond og Samling. This film is supported by Dreyersfond.
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