Lada Leidmane Architect

I study how buildings age, and design them to age well.

I'm Lada Leidmane, an architect in Copenhagen and Riga. I work with timber and reused materials, from the first site sketch to the 1:10 joint.

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Hand-drawn site sketch of a curved timber building in a clearing, with trees around it and wind lines and birds crossing the site.
Site sketch, Lauwersmeer, 2024
The cover of Lada Leidmane's portfolio, 2026, with a timber frame model of two curved wings.

Portfolio, 2026

The portfolio

The projects are best seen the way I laid them out, spread by spread. There are six of them, from an ornithology centre in the Dutch wetlands to a timber visitor centre in Nara.

Contents

  1. Lauwersmeer Ornithology Centre p. 6 Lauwersmeer, Netherlands, 2024. MSc graduation project
  2. Citibank Facade Upcycling p. 18 Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2023. Technical study, group project
  3. [Dis]connection Space p. 22 Delft, Netherlands, 2022. Design project
  4. Supported Living Residence p. 28 Bohuslav, Ukraine, 2026. Design proposal, volunteering project, ongoing
  5. La Tour MouNa p. 34 Conakry, Guinea, 2022. Competition
  6. Yoshino Wood Visitor Centre p. 38 Kawakami, Nara, Japan, 2026. YACademy and Shigeru Ban Architects design workshop

Point at a project to leaf to it. Click to open the portfolio on that page.Tap a project to open the portfolio on that page.

Open the portfolio Download the PDF

PDF, 23 pages, 5.5 MB

Aesthetics of Change

My master's thesis at TU Delft looked at how untreated timber facades weather. Let a few winters pass. The boards sheltered by the eave keep their colour longest, because the rain rarely reaches them.

Illustration of untreated timber cladding after two winters. The lower, exposed boards have turned silver grey and the boards under the eave are still brown.
Untreated timber cladding, in elevation. An illustration, not to scale.
Lada Leidmane in profile with her eyes closed, sitting in the sun beside an old stone column.

About

I trained at the Manchester School of Architecture and at TU Delft, where I graduated cum laude in 2024.

Along the way I have worked on heritage restoration in Riga, on three competition entries at Arrow Architects in Copenhagen that all won first prize, and with Architects Without Borders on a supported living home in Ukraine.

I work between research and the workshop. I draw by hand, build models and test how materials join and age, and I model the rest in Rhino, Grasshopper and Revit.

I work in English, Latvian and Russian, and I am learning Danish and Swedish.

In short

Based in
Copenhagen, DenmarkRiga, Latvia
Education
MSc Architecture, cum laude, TU Delft, 2024BA (Hons) Architecture, First Class, Manchester School of Architecture, 2020Wood Architecture Course, YACademy, 2026
Experience
Arkitekter Uden Grænser, Copenhagen, since 2025Arrow Architects, Copenhagen, 2021 to 2022LV Project, Riga, 2020 to 2021AIG Architectonic Research Group, Riga, 2019
By hand
Model making, woodworking, laser cutting and CNCHand drawing and painting
On screen
Rhino and Grasshopper, Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUpAdobe CC, Enscape, Twinmotion
Languages
English, Latvian, RussianLearning Danish and Swedish

The full CV is on page 2 of the portfolio

Pen sketch of a narrow street between old stone houses, rising towards a gate in the distance.
From my sketchbook

Working together

I take on projects of my own, and I join studios when they need another pair of hands.

With studios

Timber details and construction drawings, Rhino and Grasshopper models, and competition entries from the first sketch to the final boards. For a few weeks or for a whole project.

With private clients and developers

Small timber buildings, extensions and renovations, from the first study of the site to the details.

Write to me.

Whether it is a whole building or a few weeks of help with a competition, tell me about the place, the people and the timeline. I read and answer every message myself.

Lada

Email
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/lada-leidmane
Where I work
Copenhagen, Denmark Riga, Latvia

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