How can architects and urban planners build a better world? That’s just one of the burning questions being discussed in Copenhagen, as the city is rewarded the title of UNESCO World Capital of Architecture 2023.
According to recent figures, the buildings and constructions industry generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions* and is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation**. It’s clear that these issues need to be addressed, and urgently. This year, in the heart of Copenhagen, a global congress is taking place that puts sustainable development at the heart of architecture and urban planning, with a view to finding new paths to creating the liveable cities of the future.
“Architects in Denmark have this incredible ability to seamlessly merge modern design with traditional elements, preserving the rich cultural and design heritage of the country, while pushing boundaries and innovating with great forward-mindedness.”
Copenhagen, the 2023 UNESCO World Capital of Architecture
What does it mean to create a sustainable city? Copenhagen has a few ideas. The Danish capital is the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023, a title awarded because of its strong legacy within architecture and innovative urban development.
This summer it hosts the UIA World Congress, bringing together architects, urban planners and building professionals from around the world for a forum on the world’s most pressing challenges, viewed through the prisms of culture, heritage, urban planning, and architecture. Taking its theme as “Sustainable Futures – Leave No-One Behind”, it will focus on architecture as the lever to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with showcases of what Copenhagen has achieved, and multidisciplinary discussions about everything from social inclusion to cycling.
A long tradition of sustainable architecture
Danish architecture is known for the way that it prioritises the human aspect, alongside natural light, sustainable energy and natural materials. These elements are seen in the works of the country’s pioneering architects, such as Arne Jacobsen, as well as renowned urban planner Jan Gehl. When he redeveloped Copenhagen in the 1970s, his vision was to design a city that worked for people first. Today, his plans have blossomed into a city with thousands of kilometres of bicycle lanes, green public transport and a clean, swimmable harbour. Gehl’s visionary solutions have been adopted in locations including New York City, Sydney, London, and Mexico City.
Democratic, functional and playful
Danish architects are also particularly focused on creating democratic and functional spaces where sustainability is encoded as part of the design, often with a sense of play included. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has pioneered ‘hedonistic sustainability’, the idea that architecture and design can be sustainable and enjoyable at the same time.
Just one example is Amager Bakke or “Copenhill”, a waste to energy plant in Copenhagen designed by BIG that has a ski slope on the roof. The idea is that municipal facilities can house a space for fun and be located in the heart of a city, rather than be set on its fringes, opening up new avenues for urban city design. Some of the creative, playful aspects of Danish architecture have arisen because in Denmark, unlike other countries, the national school of architecture is part of the Royal Academy of Art.
Further examples of modern Danish architecture principles at work include Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Rocket & Tigerli building, currently under construction in Winterthur, Switzerland, which will be the world’s tallest residential highrise constructed primarily with timber when it opens in 2026.
In Copenhagen itself, the focus on democratic design is seen in Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects’s work on Krøyer’s Square, an old square between former portwarehouses that they thoroughly remade to create a popular mixed use urban space.
Sustainable architecture can go beyond resources and emissions to shape how we behave, move and interact with each other. In Copenhagen, housing blocks like BIG’s 8 Tallet have spaces where inhabitants can meet each other, creating the conditions for community to flourish. In Østerbro, the experimental Klimakvarter neighbourhood was built to mitigate climate-related issues with heavy rain, and to showcase new solutions. New Danish hospital architecture gives patients a view of nature from their beds, reflecting studies that show that daylight and views of green areas have a healing effect. And in Copenhagen’s newest district, Nordhavn, the multi award winning UN City building, designed by 3xN, is one of Denmark’s most energy-efficient buildings, using solar panels and seawater cooling systems in its construction.
“In Denmark, the clean mobility, the care for public spaces and the use of renewable energies are fundamentals that ease the contribution of architecture towards better cities.”
Making sure nobody is left behind
The headline ‘Copenhagen in Common’ runs through the year, encouraging visitors and communities to think about what they share, and how community, dialogue, and quality of life are essential components to successful and sustainable life in the city. They drive quality of life through inclusion, making sure that nobody is left behind and that a city can serve the competing needs of its citizens, all at the same time.
To further this aim, one of the tools provided as part of the conference is a universal design playbook, from DTU and Skylab, created to promote inclusion and acknowledge that with design, one size does not fit all.
In approaching these issues, Copenhagen has a long tradition of community thinking and citizen involvement to build on. The Danish Architecture Center’s ‘Copenhagen in Common’ exhibition includes examples of the city’s urban living rooms that hold neighbourhoods together, along with districts that promote unconventional thinking. It asks deeper questions, such as who owns the water? Who decides what a city should look like? And how can we understand nature in an urban landscape?
Experiencing the future of architecture
Throughout the year, Copenhagen is showcasing innovative and sustainable solutions across the city. At Living Places Copenhagen, created by VELUX, EFFEKT and Artelia (previously MOE), a series of desirable low carbon houses are on display that emit three times lower carbon emissions than a typical Danish single family home but are created to the same price point. The idea is to show that the future is here, now, and we don’t have to wait to start making the sustainable buildings we need.
Elsewhere in the city, 10 harbourside pavilions showcase the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and highlight how architecture, design and urban planning can engage with them. Each pavilion is a collaboration between architects, engineers, material producers, science institutions, associations, and foundations, all working towards asking the right questions when it comes to building for the future, relating to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All of the pavilions are designed to be accessible to everyone and are built with emphasis on responsible consumption of materials with plans for recycling, reassembly or reuse after the exhibition.
Other ways to experience the future of architecture in Copenhagen through the year include an architecture run, open house events, bike tours, soundscape walks, and talks, events and festivals in locations from rooftop farms to private buildings.
Urban planners, investors, developers, designers, and the building industry recognise an urgent need to move in the same direction, to use resources better, build in regenerative and planet-caring ways, and create more equal societies, and through the events and programme of World Architecture Year and the UIA Congress, progress will be made.
The last word goes to Copenhagen’s City Architect, Camilla van Deurs:
“I hope that Copenhagen, World Capital of Architecture 2023, will encourage the building industry and all of us who are working to develop the city, to create beautiful and sustainable world class buildings.”
Amen to that.
* https://architecture2030.org/why-the-building-sector/
** https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/sustainability/buildings-and-construction_en
