DANISH ARCHITECTURE BEYOND 2020

Project Managers Elizabeth Donovan & Urszula Kozminska

In Fall 2019, the Government allocated 1.5 billion DKK to green research from the research unit, and Aarhus School of Architecture has been granted two million DKK for pilot projects that can contribute to the green transition. At Aarhus School of Architecture five research projects have been selected to receive this funding. This research project is one of those five.

This one-year research project aims to evaluate how the transition towards sustainable architecture could evolve after the failure to reach many of the 2020 sustainability goals and how Danish architecture can develop beyond the status quo. Going beyond is crucial as the 2030 and 2050 goals are in jeopardy at the current trajectory of progress in areas such as emissions reduction, waste generation and energy efficiency. Thus, this project investigates 5 emerging (sustainable) design approaches which are possible core drivers for the necessary shift in architectural practices. The approaches include: circularity, UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate adaptation, health & wellbeing and participation.

The research is divided into 4 phases – define, analysis, exemplify and disseminate – here you will see a snapshot of the initial findings from the first 2 phases of the project.
Phase one – define – explores and characterises the principles, requirements and methods of practice for each of the five architectural approaches. The second – analysis – phase evaluates the qualities of the 5 architectural approaches and how they are implemented within Denmark. The third phase exemplifies these 5 approaches through 5 corresponding case studies.

Finally, the dissemination phase presents and discusses the outcomes of the project through a seminar, which creates a platform for practice and academia; as well as in a visual online and analogue publication containing design guidelines for each of the five approaches.

Read more about the project here https://www.danishsustainablearchitecture.com/.