The building and garden landscapes at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen SDCC are intricately interwoven through biophilic design, creating a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors. Research shows that nature has positive effects on both mental and physical health, making its omnipresence a key architectural feature at SDCC. Four courtyard gardens, designed by STED – By og landskab, cut through the building, bringing daylight, greenery, and the changing seasons into every room. Each courtyard has its own distinct identity: a high forest for climbing and play, edible plantings for foraging, and peaceful spaces for reflection or communal dining.
The rooftop is not a decorative layer but a living, dynamic infrastructure. Designed as a therapeutic terrain of hills, valleys, and wild grasses, the rooftop garden invites physical activity through curiosity and delight rather than discipline or prescription. Here, nature is foundational, shaping movement patterns, wayfinding, and moments of pause. It defines how users interact physically and emotionally with the building. It positions landscape architecture as a core element of societal infrastructure, contributing to long-term behavioural change.
The jury was also attracted by the interesting design, the choice of an irregular organic shapes, which are not artificial, close-to-geometric organic shapes. Curves are freer, adapting to the derivation of paved surfaces, and above all, they are additionally softened by plantings – plants with freely growing edges that cover the otherwise correct geometric features.
https://sted-cph.dk/news-posts/steno-diabetes-center-copenhagen-slaar-doerene-op/
