Inside 6 World-Famous Architecture Firms: Where Iconic Designs Are Born

Ever wondered where the magic happens? Not just the flash of inspiration that creates a building like London’s City Hall or the spiraling form of The Gherkin—but the actual, physical space where architects gather, sketch, argue, and refine their visions into reality. Have you pictured the studios where starchitects like Renzo Piano and Bjarke Ingels spend their days, surrounded by models and drawings? These creative environments reveal as much about architectural innovation as the buildings they produce.

If you’re feeling inspired to start your own practice, take a look at these Young Architecture Firms Set To Change The World—they prove that groundbreaking design can come from studios of any size. But first, let’s step inside the workplaces of six global architecture firms that have fundamentally shaped contemporary architecture.

What Makes These Studios Spaces for Innovation?

The world’s leading architecture firms understand that their own offices must embody their design philosophy. These aren’t just workplaces—they’re manifestos in physical form, where natural light, collaborative zones, and material experimentation foster the next generation of iconic buildings. The layout of a studio, the way models are displayed, even the coffee ritual—these details shape how architects think and create.

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6 Prominent Architecture Firms

1. Foster + Partners, London – UK: High-Tech Architecture Headquarters

courtesy of fosterand+partners

Foster + Partners operates from an international design hub in London, led by its 81-year-old founder—Pritzker Prize winner Norman Foster. The firm has defined high-tech architecture for decades, creating landmarks like London’s streamlined City Hall and the distinctive 30 St Mary Axe tower, affectionately known as the Gherkin. Their studio reflects this ethos: a precision-engineered environment where advanced digital fabrication tools sit alongside traditional model-making workshops, embodying the firm’s commitment to technological innovation and craft.

2. Snøhetta, Oslo – Norway: Nordic Design at its Finest

courtesy of snohetta studio

Snøhetta began as a collaborative collective in Oslo, bringing together architects, landscape designers, interior specialists, and brand experts. Today, more than 180 employees from 30 nations work in studios across the U.S., Austria, Sweden, and Singapore. Their Oslo headquarters, perched on the edge of a fjord, mirrors the firm’s design philosophy—buildings that strengthen connections between people and their environment. This multidisciplinary approach produced the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, which earned the Aga Khan Award, and the Oslo Opera House—a building that invites the public to walk on its roof, blurring the line between architecture and landscape.

3. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Copenhagen – Denmark: Radical Ideas in Action

courtesy of BIG Ingels group

BIG operates from Copenhagen and New York, driven by founder Bjarke Ingels’ belief that architecture should be pragmatic utopianism. The group integrates architecture, landscape, urban planning, interior design, and product development under one roof. Their studio buzzes with energy—models of the 8 House in Copenhagen and VIA 57 West in New York fill the space, alongside dozens of experimental proposals. This environment of constant experimentation, where every designer contributes to multiple scales of work, explains how BIG maintains its reputation for extraordinary design ideas while juggling under-construction projects worldwide.

4. MVRDV, Rotterdam – Netherlands: Research-Driven Dutch Design

courtesy of mvrdv

Founded in 1993, MVRDV operates from a transformed industrial building in Rotterdam, a city that serves as their urban laboratory. The Dutch firm approaches architecture as applied research, with projects spanning from the Netherlands Pavilion at the World EXPO 2000 in Hannover to sustainable office buildings in Paris’ first eco-district. Their studio functions as a think tank where data visualization, material experiments, and intense debate drive design. This research-led methodology produced the Mirador and Celosia housing in Madrid—projects that reimagine collective living through bold forms and vibrant communal spaces.

5. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Chicago – USA: Skyscraper Pioneers

courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, known as SOM, stands as one of the world’s largest and most influential architecture firms. Since its founding in 1936, the Chicago-based practice has completed over 10,000 projects across more than 50 countries, earning nearly 2,000 awards. Their studio resembles a vertical city of its own—floors dedicated to structural engineering, environmental analysis, and digital design collaborate seamlessly. This integrated approach enabled them to design the world’s tallest buildings, including Willis Tower in Chicago and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the current world’s tallest building.

6. Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), Paris – France: Italian Craft Meets Global Vision

courtesy of 6. Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), Paris – France

RPBW operates from offices in Paris and Genoa, Italy, founded in 1981 by Pritzker laureate Renzo Piano. The workshop emerged from Piano’s early collaboration on the controversial yet revolutionary Centre Georges Pompidou, and has since executed more than 120 projects across Europe, North America, Australasia, and East Asia. Their studio feels more like an artisan’s workshop than a corporate office—models are handcrafted with meticulous detail, material samples cover every surface, and senior architects work alongside apprentices. This atelier culture produced the Kansai International Airport Terminal in Osaka, the living roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and the crystalline Shard in London.

What Questions Should You Ask When Visiting Architecture Firms?

If you ever tour these studios, the most revealing questions aren’t about their famous buildings—they’re about their daily process. Ask how they foster collaboration between disciplines. Inquire about their model-making traditions. Question how studio layout influences design decisions. These answers reveal the culture behind the architecture.

How Do Office Designs Shape Architectural Innovation?

These six studios demonstrate that workspace design directly impacts creative output. Foster + Partners’ tech-forward environment produces precision-engineered solutions. Snøhetta’s fjord-side location reinforces their landscape integration philosophy. BIG’s chaotic model-filled studio mirrors their “yes is more” approach to complexity. MVRDV’s research lab generates data-driven urban strategies. SOM’s integrated floors enable skyscraper innovation. RPBW’s workshop atmosphere preserves craft in a digital age.

Each studio’s physical space acts as a silent curriculum, teaching young architects what the firm values through light, material, and spatial relationships.

Which Architecture Firm Culture Matches Your Aspirations?

Choosing where to work—or what to emulate in your own practice—depends on aligning your values with a firm’s culture. Do you thrive in high-tech precision? Foster + Partners might inspire you. Does social and environmental integration drive your passion? Study Snøhetta. Are radical, experimental ideas your fuel? BIG’s methodology will resonate. Prefer research and data? MVRDV’s approach offers a model. Dream of shaping skylines? SOM’s integrated practice shows the way. Value craft and material exploration? RPBW’s workshop culture sets the standard.

Ready to Explore More?

If these studios inspire your architectural journey, dive deeper with these resources:

Yosra M. Ahmed

Yosra is an architect, writer, and teacher. She is always into learning something new. Her life motto is: "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” One day she will travel the world and visit its architectural wonders. In the meanwhile, she contends herself with reading and writing about them.