Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen

The hospital has been designed in collaboration with its users and incorporates warm materials, nature, and daylight into clear flows. This creates a safe and homely environment, blurring the boundary between hospital and home.

Nature in healing and prevention

Research shows that traditional hospital environments can make even healthy patients feel unwell and weaken them physically and emotionally. With the understanding that people who spend time in green spaces are more likely to report good health, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen has been designed to maximise opportunities to enjoy natural surroundings – both indoors and outdoors.

The building is organised around a large, two-storey garden, complemented by six smaller, lush courtyards. With gardens at the heart of the design, there is a constant visual connection to nature and daylight, while also offering the possibility to explore verdant spaces. Outdoors, this encourages physical activity, while indoors, it supports healing and education.

The outdoor areas are designed to be open and accessible to pass that everyone can enjoy the biodiverse landscape. The rooftop garden is publicly accessible and invites the local community to explore the diverse plant life, making the green spaces a hub for biodiversity.

Turning waiting hours into active time

On arrival, visitors are welcomed by a lush, undulating landscape with pathways that naturally guide towards the entrance on the right. To the left, a wide staircase invites visitors to make their way the public rooftop garden.

Inside, on the ground floor, all communal and waiting areas have been reimagined so that the architecture itself promotes a healthy lifestyle, transforming waiting time into active time around the themes of health and education. Large glass façades framed in anodised aluminium dissolve the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Warm wooden floors and ceilings are used as the main interior materials, as studies show that timber interiors help reduce stress.