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Scandinavia | 01.10.2026
AART becomes part of Verka Collective
AART becomes part of Verka Collective – a collective of independent architecture practices with a presence in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. With more than 250 employees across seven offices, AART brings the collective to a new European scale while gaining access to a larger shared platform for investments in architectural quality, specialist expertise and innovation. The ambition is to give clients access to competitive, architect-led consultancy in the development of the buildings, cities and landscapes of the future across Europe.
With more than 250 employees across seven offices in the Nordic region, AART brings the architecture collective to more than 500 employees. AART adds not only scale to the collective, but also strong expertise in areas including architecture, transformation and preservation, urban development, and the systematic integration and documentation of the added value architecture creates for people, organisations and society.
The ambition of Verka Collective is to build a significant European collective of architecture practices while preserving the strength of the individual brands. With AART, this model gains new professional and commercial weight.
“AART changes both the scale and reach of Verka Collective. We are gaining a practice that already works across markets, offices and disciplines, and that has experience in developing a large architecture practice in its own right. AART will therefore become a central part of the collective and the next phase of our European development,” says Frants Nielsen, CEO of Verka Collective.
AART joins the collective from a position of strengt
AART is one of the Nordic region’s largest partner-owned architecture practices, advising clients on the development of organisations and society with architecture as a catalyst. The practice is currently involved in the development of more than two million square metres across scales and sectors. Current landmark projects include the new Royal Treasury at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, the Viking Age Museum in Oslo, the transformation of Universitetsbyen in Aarhus, Grundfos’ global headquarters in Bjerringbro and Postbyen in Copenhagen.
“For us, this is about creating an even stronger platform for what we fundamentally believe in: that architecture can and should be used as a tool to create positive change for people, organisations and places. We call it Redefining Architecture, and we now have even greater strength to invest in and develop that ambition,” says Torben Skovbjerg Larsen, founding partner and CEO of AART.
“AART will continue as AART – with our own identity, professional ambitions and position – but now with access to a larger European architecture community, broader expertise and new opportunities for collaboration. This gives us greater scope to develop architecture, strengthen our influence and create even greater impact – for our clients and for society as a whole,” he says.
For AART, Verka Collective provides an opportunity to accelerate its strategy with a focus on areas including the green transition, circular economy, AI and new technologies in design, consultancy and business. At the same time, the collective creates opportunities to bring AART’s expertise into play in new markets and develop it in collaboration with other strong professional environments. One concrete example is NORDFY, which recently joined the collective as a specialist in strategic and applied AI tailored to the needs of architecture practices.
Size with a purpose
A key ambition of Verka Collective is to create greater collective strength to develop the architectural profession and, in doing so, strengthen the quality of urban development across Europe.
“Historically, the architect’s role has been to take responsibility for the whole – bringing disciplines, requirements and considerations together into one coherent response. This is at the core of the architectural profession, because it is in the whole that quality emerges – both when a project is completed and when it needs to function and create value for many years to come. Today, creating that whole is far more complex. It places greater demands on the knowledge and specialist expertise we need to bring together. With Verka Collective, we are building a platform that makes us even better equipped to do exactly that: lead complexity and translate it into architectural quality and long-term value – for our clients and for society,” says Torben Skovbjerg Larsen.
Verka Collective makes it possible to bring together the different expertise, knowledge and capacity of its practices when a project calls for it, while responsibility for the architecture and client relationships remains with the individual practice.
“With AART, we can build stronger teams and deliver regardless of geography. At the same time, we can invest more in development, innovation, transformation and documenting architecture’s impact and value. This strengthens the architectural profession’s ability to take responsibility for the major transformations of the built environment in a climate crisis. We need to be able to be small and large at the same time. Close to clients, culture and local markets, while having the capacity, expertise and experience to solve the most complex challenges together. That is the essence of Verka Collective,” says Sonja Stockmarr, Commercial Director at Verka Collective.
Different practices, shared platform
The collective aims to bring together more than 1,000 employees across Europe by the end of 2028 through organic growth and the addition of new practices.
“We don’t acquire companies simply to become bigger. They need to bring strong professional expertise, a clear position and something that can make the other practices better. AART meets all three criteria,” says Frants Nielsen.
The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities.
