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The studio

Twenty-six people, two cities, one pace.

Atelier Noir was founded in 2011 in a former printing works in Nørrebro. In 2018 we opened a second studio in a Kyoto machiya. The two offices share every project, and a daily hour when both are awake.

The stepped corner of a concrete apartment building against a pale sky

Nørrebro, CopenhagenWhere the studio began

Partners

The people who sign the drawings

  • Mette Halvorsen

    Founding partner · Copenhagen

    Trained at the Royal Danish Academy and in the office of Jørn Utzon's successors. Mette leads the studio's residential and cultural work and teaches a studio on daylight each winter.

  • Ren Ishikawa

    Founding partner · Kyoto

    Ren grew up in a family of temple carpenters and studied architecture at Kyoto University. He leads the Japanese practice and the studio's research into timber and joinery.

  • Aurélie Marchand

    Partner · Interiors

    Joined in 2016 from a Paris interiors practice. Aurélie leads the studio's interior and furniture work, and is the reason every project has exactly one good chair.

Timeline

Fifteen slow years

  1. 2011

    Founded in a former printing works in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, by Mette Halvorsen and Ren Ishikawa.

  2. 2014

    First completed house, Skodsborg, published in Arkitekten.

  3. 2016

    Aurélie Marchand joins as partner. Interiors practice established.

  4. 2018

    Kyoto studio opens in a converted machiya in the Nishijin district.

  5. 2021

    Meridian Offices completes; the studio's first workplace commission.

  6. 2023

    Hollow House, Kōyō Pavilion and Ember Ryokan open within one year.

  7. 2024

    Tidewater Hotel wins the Dezeen Hospitality Award.

  8. 2026

    Studio grows to twenty-six people across both cities.

Services

What we take on

  • 01ArchitectureNew build, adaptive reuse, master planning
  • 02InteriorsResidential, hospitality, workplace
  • 03Furniture & ObjectsBespoke pieces, limited editions
  • 04Daylight ConsultingAnalysis, modelling, glazing strategy
  • 05LandscapeCourts, gardens, thresholds

Recognition

Kindly noted

  • 2024Dezeen AwardsHospitality Building of the Year — Tidewater Hotel
  • 2024Nykredit Architecture PrizeStudio award
  • 2023Wallpaper* Design AwardsBest New Private House — Hollow House
  • 2023Good Design Award, JapanKōyō Pavilion
  • 2023EU Mies AwardNomination — Kōyō Pavilion
  • 2022Monocle Design AwardsStudio of the Year, shortlist
  • 2021Architectural ReviewEmerging Architecture, commendation

Work with us

We are
listening.

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