Architecture Through a Social Lens
Let's Talk Architecture
Visit most of the major architecture firms in Copenhagen and you might be forgiven for thinking the industry is more diverse than most, but as we learn in this episode, things aren’t always what they seem. Christine Bjerke is an architect and the co-founder of Building Diversity, a volunteer-run organisation which focuses on inclusivity and aims to enhance diversity within the built environment. We’ve touched on this a few times over the years in episodes of Let's Talk Architecture, looking at how to include a wider range of people in the...
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Bioregional architecture - building from the materials which surround us
Let's Talk Architecture
The Hedeskov Living Lab in Djursland, on the Jutland Peninsula, points towards a potential paradigm shift in sustainable architecture. In this episode, we meet architect Justine Bell from Djernes & Bell, who tells the story of transforming a former school into a centre for education, research and experimentation with regenerative building practices. The project has been created using locally sourced raw and reclaimed materials, including clay, sand, bulrushes and horse manure. This approach is described by some...
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Why Architects Love Dinesen Floors
Let's Talk Architecture
You find Dinesen wood floors in museums, flagship stores, restaurants, galleries and historic buildings around the world. But what is it about these extraordinary timber planks that architects love so much? In this episode, host Michael Booth visits the 128-year-old family company in southern Jutland to explore how Dinesen has become one of architecture’s most trusted material partners. Together with creative director Hans Peter Dinesen, the conversation dives into craftsmanship, quality, the relationship between architects and materials, and why some of...
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Reframing the Periphery
Let's Talk Architecture
What happens when a national art museum moves beyond the capital, and into a small coastal village? In this episode, host Michael Booth meets architect Reiulf Ramstad to explore SMK Thy, a new branch of the Danish National Gallery set by the Limfjord. Reusing materials, preserving existing structures and working closely with the landscape, the project becomes more than a museum, it’s a meeting place for art, nature and community. From a jar of local honey that sparked the competition idea to the ambition of reusing everything on...
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Using Nature to Recharge Infrastructure?
Let's Talk Architecture
EV charging stations are usually places to pass through, not places to stay. But what if they could become green, restorative spaces instead? In this episode, host Michael Booth talks with architect Louise Flach de Neergaard from Cobe about a new generation of charging stations designed for Clever. Using timber canopies, native planting and nature-based design, the project rethinks infrastructure as a place for pause, biodiversity and everyday wellbeing. The conversation explores how architecture can transform enforced waiting time into a meaningful break, and how even the most...
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Using nature to turn billion Euro flooding into life quality bonus
Let's Talk Architecture
Catastrophic cloudbursts are already reshaping Copenhagen. Instead of hiding the problem underground in massive pipes, what if rainwater could be used to improve everyday life in the city? In this episode, host Michael Booth meets Mette Skjold, CEO and senior partner at landscape architecture studio SLA, to explore the transformation of Bispeparken, a former stretch of anonymous lawn turned into a nature-based climate adaptation project. Designed to manage extreme rainfall, the park uses bioswales, terrain and planting to slow and store water, while creating new...
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BLOX Unpacked
Let's Talk Architecture
When BLOX opened in 2018, it divided opinion. Designed by OMA as the home of the Danish Architecture Center, the building was unlike anything Copenhagen had seen before, bold, complex and unapologetically different. In this episode, host Michael Booth is joined by DAC CEO Kent Martinussen for a guided tour of BLOX, as the centre prepares an anniversary exhibition marking 40 years of DAC. Together they unpack the story behind the building: the unusual architect selection process, Rem Koolhaas’ vision of architecture as urban infrastructure, and the idea of BLOX as...
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Can Architecture Heal Us?
Let's Talk Architecture
Timber instead of tiles, curiosity instead of corridors, and a 15-metre-high atrium designed to make people feel safer, healthier and more connected. Copenhagen’s Centre for Health proposes a new typology for public healthcare architecture. In this episode, Michael Booth meets architect Dorte Mandrup, widely regarded as one of Denmark’s greatest living architects, to explore how a complex and often contradictory brief — openness and privacy, care and community — was translated into a warm, tactile and quietly radical public building. ...
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Building a Mega-Museum
Let's Talk Architecture
Eighteen years, a 14-metre-deep crater, a rebuilt brick façade, and a glass dome set to redefine Copenhagen’s skyline Denmark’s new Natural History Museum is almost ready. In this episode, Michael Booth meets architect Claus Pryds, who was barely out of architecture school when he unexpectedly won the competition for the country’s next great museum. What followed was a marathon of design, engineering and sheer perseverance that stretched across nearly two decades. Michael and Claus dive into the wild story behind the museum: the setbacks, the...
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Why biodiversity Matters and how to get more
Let's Talk Architecture
Can architecture help us create a future where both humans and nature can thrive? And is it possible to truly strengthen biodiversity in big cities – or are we just creating small, isolated pockets of green? In this episode, Michael Booth meets ecologist, biodiversity developer and founder of Oiko, Kristine Kjørup Rasmussen. Together they explore Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district – from concrete cityscapes to wild wastelands – to see how biodiversity can be measured, protected, and even enhanced in the midst of urban development. Guest: Kristine Kjørup Rasmussen,...
info_outlineThe Danish harbour town of Svendborg, like many cities, has faced severe storm surges and pluvial flooding in recent years. How can towns like Svendborg adapt to the increasing threat of flooding caused by climate change? And could learning to live with regular, controlled flooding – rather than fighting it – be the answer?
This is part two of Let’s Talk Architecture’s deep dive into how Danish architects and planners are addressing the water-related challenges of climate change.
In this episode, host Michael Booth speaks with architect Anna Als Nielsen from Svendborg Municipality about the town’s innovative response. Instead of investing in costly sea walls and flood barriers, Svendborg is embracing a new approach: allowing controlled flooding in specific areas and transforming them into attractive recreational spaces.
Let’s Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.