From the renovated Gensler offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Århus-born Danish architect MICHAEL MØLLER PEDERSEN recalls his plan to move to LA with his wife in 2005 for a ten-year trial period. 20 years later, as project architect and technical director, he discusses architecture as a focus on the human experience, the role of sustainability, what makes a good architect, his appetite for large, complex projects, and the topic of heritage as a Dane living in the US raising his young daughter.

Michael selects a work by Vilhelm Hammershøi from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS3696

(Photographer: Ryan Gobuty)

This conversation with Tina Jøhnk Christensen occurred on July 11, 2025.

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