On Thursday, EFFEKT was awarded the Eckersberg Medal 2026 at the Danish Academy Council’s annual celebration at Charlottenborg Palace, in the presence of His Majesty King Frederik.
The medal is awarded by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts to individuals and practices that have made a contribution of outstanding artistic quality within architecture and the visual arts.
EFFEKT received the Eckersberg Medal 2026 with the following motivation:
“To immerse oneself in EFFEKT’s work is like travelling through multifaceted and generous visions of our life on earth. In the studio’s project Living Places, seven prototypes are presented – five open pavilions and two completed full-scale homes – demonstrating how more sustainable housing can be developed with a three times lower CO₂ footprint while achieving an excellent indoor climate. A tangible response to the far-reaching claims often made in the name of sustainability.
As early as 2013, EFFEKT demonstrated exemplary human-centred design in the Danish Cancer Society’s counselling centre in Næstved. An architectural empathy that already then revealed the studio’s ability to embrace the breadth and complexity of the discipline. In Viborg, they convincingly transformed a worn industrial building into a vibrant street sports hub. On Frederiksberg, a housing project manages both to respect its context and to renew and enrich its surroundings with careful attention to scale. The importance of turning a corner with elegance and allowing space for a meaningful view towards a church is emphasised. Near Aarhus, wooden pavilions for war veterans demonstrate a refined understanding of the logic inherent in the chosen constructions. And at Gisselfeld Kloster, the Forest Tower eloquently expresses the connection between structural aesthetics and functional necessity in the movement from ground to sky.
EFFEKT’s insistence on sustainability as a guiding principle is evident in the Reduction Roadmap, an ambitious research-based transformation tool that translates the Paris Agreement into concrete actions for the industry.
For this compelling ability to master the full complexity and breadth of the architectural discipline, EFFEKT is awarded the Eckersberg Medal.”
Co-founders Sinus Lynge and Tue Hesselberg Foged participated in the ceremony together with partners Tina Lund Højgaard and Toni Rubio Soler.
“We are truly honoured to receive the Eckersberg Medal. Realising projects in this industry is always a challenge – creating beautiful design and change in the industry is even harder. That is why this recognition from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts means so much to us.” Say the co-founders.
Thank you to His Majesty King Frederik, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and to every collaborator who has contributed to this journey.
Photos: Frida Gregersen
More info: https://akademiraadet.dk/eckersberg-medaillen-2026-2/