Danish Arts Foundation
Working Grant 2024

We are honoured to be amongst fantastic company in being awarded the 2024 Danish Arts working grant for architects. We are happy to be collectively ‘pulling the profession into new directions’ with our focus on the architecture of repair. 


Djernes & Bell is a young architecture firm, founded in 2020 by Jonas Djernes and Justine Bell. They represent a new generation of architects striving to contribute to the development of better building practices with respect for the planet's limits. The duo insists on reuse, repair, and transformation rather than new construction. They draw inspiration from historical craftsmanship methods and work with natural and regenerative materials.

Djernes & Bell do not see buildings as static objects but as living organisms that evolve over time and are constantly shaped by their use and users. For them, architecture is a living process and part of a larger ecosystem, where the existing elements should be maintained and nurtured, while new additions must be integrated respectfully to create new stories and rituals—connecting people to nature, time, and place.