This past year has been filled to the brim with ideas and fresh perspectives. Together with our clients, we’ve designed, reshaped, and preserved. We’ve moved seamlessly between sustainable solutions that shape the future and cultural environments that tell fascinating stories about our roots. As the year draws to a close, we’re putting aside the blueprints to focus on this season’s highlight – building a gingerbread house.

2024 has been a year of achievements for all of us at Tengbom. Alongside you – our clients and partners – we’ve had the privilege of creating places that make a difference. Our journey has ranged from preserving historic environments rich in identity and storytelling, to shaping modern, sustainable neighborhoods that look ahead, to solving the puzzle of the smartest park layout or the most brand-defining interior concept. Yet every year, there’s something that stands out.

This year, we often found ourselves pausing to reflect: How can we care for what already exists while also contributing the new that the world needs?

Restoring and renovating requires a gentle touch. It’s not just about freshening up walls and roofs but about preserving the incredible cultural heritage we have here in Sweden, along with the stories embedded in these environments. It’s as much an architectural challenge as a human one, reminding us to create with respect for both the past and the future.

Sustainability also continued to challenge us to think differently this year. From circular material flows to climate-smart solutions, we’ve explored, with the strong support of our partners, how architecture can be part of the solution – not the problem. And it’s not just about technology; it’s about creating spaces where people, animals, and nature can thrive, now and in the future.

We need to talk about aesthetic sustainability

Our thoughtful colleague Magnus Almung puts it like this:

“The beauty of our work is how it moves between the big and the small – from preserving a building’s soul to reimagining ways to shape future societies. The debate about architecture is important, but it’s not about simplistic answers concerning the final centimeter of style. We need to talk about aesthetic sustainability – about buildings and environments that are beautiful and functional, that property owners and users want to maintain and care for over time. Spaces that are appreciated for generations. This is how we architects can help build a sustainable society.”

Soon, we’ll be swapping our drawing boards for baking boards, channeling our creativity into Christmas’ main event: the gingerbread house. A structure that might not withstand storms or earn a WELL certification but captures the essence of good architecture – creating with heart.

With that, we’d like to thank you for 2024 and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to meeting again in 2025 – over an impromptu lunch on a rooftop, in meeting rooms buzzing with ideas, or in a muddy construction site where the future begins.

This year, our Christmas donation goes to UNICEF to support their work in creating a better future for children worldwide.

/All of us at Tengbom