One of Scandinavia’s best-known design studios, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, have joined global firm Perkins+Will in a strategic partnership.

In a joint statement, the two practices said the move will allow Perkins+Will to diversify its global talent, expand its cultural and civic practice and reinforce the caliber of its design portfolio, while Schmidt Hammer Lassen will be able to expand into new geographic markets, grow its client base, “and apply groundbreaking design research to practice”.

“Part of what makes this partnership so special is that we share a common set of values: design excellence, sustainability, innovation, and the highest level of client service,” said Perkins+Will CEO Phil Harrison.

“We maintain the same design ethos, believing that exceptional architecture is always democratic and in the service of the greater good. We’re compatible at every level.”

Founded in 1986, Schmidt Hammer Lassen are best-known for their Scandinavian architectural traditions and cultural and civic buildings, including an extension to the Royal Library in Copenhagen; the Katuaq Cultural Centre in Nuuk and the ARoS Museum of Art and Dokk1 public library in Aarhus.

The firm recently won competitions to design the world’s largest library – the 1.2 million sq ft Shanghai East Library – and a sports and culture campus in Aarhus.

According to the firm, its philosophy is rooted in “democracy, welfare, sustainability, light, openness, and social responsibility”.

Harrison said Perkins+Will appreciate this design legacy. “We see the coming together of design cultures, aesthetics and sensibilities as a positive force that leads to better, more thoughtful, more inclusive architecture,” he said.

Explaining their similarities in ethos, Bjarne Hammer, founding partner of Schmidt Hammer Lassen, said: “We share a clear mission: through architecture and design, we make a positive difference in the world and in the lives of others.

“We both believe strongly in the transformative, healing power of design to address some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time."

The firm’s CEO Bente Damgaard said: “We want to be known as a company that is both design-driven and client-focused, and that produces extraordinary designs and delivers them with extraordinary efficiency.

"This merger enables us to maintain this critical part of our identity while having the support, technology and reach of a much larger organisation.”

Perkins+Will are known for their research in areas such as computational design, sunlight modelling, brownfield regeneration, barrier-free design and hazardous building materials.

Their landmark leisure projects include the Shanghai Natural History Museum, the Albion Library in Toronto and the reinvention of Canada’s largest public square. Future projects include Detroit’s Motown Museum and a science museum in Suzhou.