Construction Ban
What if future homes could only be found in houses that have already been built?
Join us in Hørdum – an ordinary village in Denmark in the year 2025. We meet villager Hans Jørgen who, through a mysterious letter from the future, gets a glimpse of how his beloved village will take on a whole new life in the not-so-distant future. A construction ban will force Danes to rediscover the value of the many fine homes already built across the country – and this will change Hørdum forever.
The future scenario is created by architects Caroline Hahn Nilsson and Ebbe Lavsen of Hahn Lavsen.
About the Architects’ Future Scenario
In Hahn Lavsen’s film, we see how Danish villages can be revived while embracing a much more sustainable way of living. The recipe is simple: we must stop building new structures and instead take much better care of what we already have. In fact, there is more than enough space for all Danes—if we can rediscover our love for the houses that have already been built in Denmark’s villages. Step into this future, where villages once again flourish as sustainable communities in close connection with nature.
Hahn Lavsen
Based in North Jutland, architecture firm Hahn Lavsen was founded in 2019 by Caroline Hahn and Ebbe Lavsen. Both founders have extensive experience in transforming and restoring buildings. They combine their knowledge of traditional materials and building techniques in their work on both old and contemporary structures. Follow Hahn Lavsen’s work here.
Explore the three other architecture firms’ visions for the future: How will we live in 2050?
About the National Architecture Policy
With their future scenarios, the four architecture firms have provided inspiration to The Expert Group for National Architecture Policy. The expert group was set up to develop a white paper with recommendations for a new national architecture policy. The wording matters when formulating Denmark’s new national architecture policy. The architecture policy sets the direction for the built environment across Denmark. Drawing on the national architecture policy, the government and municipalities can create actual legislation that, for example, may dictate façade design, set CO2 emission limits for construction, or determine whether it should remain acceptable to build 200-square-meter single-family homes. The policy can thus have a huge and direct impact on the way we all live.
Helle Søholt, CEO of Gehl Architects and spokesperson for the expert group, says:
“The four future scenarios are an important inspiration for our work in the expert group. They challenge us to radically rethink our urban environments and show how the architecture of the future can be a catalyst for sustainable change. This rethinking will be an important part of how we devise our recommendations for the new national architecture policy. We hope the films can contribute to an open, active, and inclusive dialog about the recommendations in municipalities across Denmark. “
Read more about the about the national architecture policy here.
About the Expert Group for National Architecture Policy
The Expert Group for National Architecture Policy was appointed by the Minister for Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt to draw up a number of recommendations for what a new national architecture policy should contain. The expert group consists of leading experts in Denmark within architecture and urban planning, including Pil Høyer Thielst, partner at Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects; Lene Dammand Lund, rector at the Royal Danish Academy; and Lars Autrup, CEO of the Danish Association of Architects.
Find out more at the Danish Ministry of Culture’s website.