By Maj Schubert

June 3, 2024

Denmark is set to adopt a new national architecture policy. You might be wondering, “A new one? Do we have one already?” The short answer is yes. It might seem distant, abstract, and elitist. However, the outcome of a new policy is more crucial to your life than you might think. Architecture encompasses everything from your home to where you enjoy your summer beers, to the appearance of your workplace.

We can’t avoid it – we literally walk into it every day. Architecture covers all spatial aspects, from housing to urban spaces and plans for larger or smaller city areas. So, when the Danish Ministry of Culture enlists the industry’s top experts to propose a new national policy in this area, it might be a good idea to pay attention. But what is a national architecture policy? What will it mean for you? Will it make a difference in reality? And aren’t there more pressing matters to address right now?

If you are new to the world of architecture, it’s understandable if you have a flood of questions. But an upcoming national architecture policy can significantly influence how we create cities, communities, and quality of life across Denmark, ultimately affecting your daily life.

There are many aspects to consider in the world of architecture policy. This is a guide to some of the most important things you need to know about architecture policy.

What is a National Architecture Policy?

You might think of legal codes or some new law when you hear the word “policy.” However, a national architecture policy is not concrete legislation that directly dictates what is allowed or not allowed in architecture development. You won’t be jailed or fined for building something different from what is outlined in a national architecture policy. The goal is to set out ambitions that guide architecture, allowing for collaboration and development across city boundaries. A national architecture policy thus contains common goals for the future “built environment” – basically everything we call architecture.

What do we want as a society? How do we want to shape our cities? What is important to prioritize when building? What do the best possible homes look like? How can we accelerate the green transition in the right direction? How do we ensure quality in construction?

Since it is not legislation, it is crucial that the policy is used actively, so we constantly refer to it in our discussions about architecture. According to Lars Autrup, Chairman of the Danish Association of Architects, we tend to discuss architecture seriously only when we are dissatisfied – when a tall skyscraper is built, and we realize it casts a shade over the adjacent apartment complex, for instance.

A national policy should, among other things, encourage us to talk about good architecture so that we can build correctly. Autrup calls it soft power, which he believes is a strong player for culture and can create a shared enthusiasm.

With inspiration from the national policy, the government and municipalities can create actual legislation, such as how a particular facade should look, how much CO₂ can be emitted by a building, and whether it should still be permissible to build 200-square-meter single-family homes. This is all determined by local plans, building regulations, planning laws, and the building act, but these topics likely require a separate article, so let’s focus on the architecture policy.

How Does a National Architecture Policy Become Reality?

You can forget about a significant impact from well-formulated national ambitions if the country’s municipalities do not each develop their own policies and implement them. Again, we can ask Lars Autrup. Since 2019, he has traveled around Denmark to talk with municipalities about developing individual architecture policies based on each municipality’s DNA and history. What constitutes good architecture policy in one town might be different in the next.

»You can’t sit in the Parliament and dictate urban quality or the way we build in the country. That can be done locally. It needs to be close to the citizens. But you can support it happening. Therefore, I wish for the national architecture policy to support the municipalities in their work,« says Lars Autrup.

Today, only 15 out of 44 visited municipalities have created policies, so there’s still a way to go. However, the expert group currently working on recommendations for a new national architecture policy hopes that national-level discussions will influence local actions, leading to more conscious urban development.

The Expert Group and Their Recommendations

The short answer is that Denmark’s past and upcoming national architecture policies are based on recommendations from various experts in the field – from anthropologists to architects. The groups’ members vary and are selected each time by the Danish Minister for Culture (yes, the architecture policy falls under the Ministry of Culture, and there’s a reason for that, which we will get back to shortly).

They develop the recommendations with additional experts input. They have asked municipalities to contribute wishes for the policy and are working with idea competitions. They have also chosen four different architectural firms to present their visions for how we should live and build in 2050.

Why is the Ministry of Culture Responsible for an Architecture Policy?

It might sound odd that the Ministry of Culture is responsible for an architecture policy. Why not some of the other ministries responsible for housing, or cities and rural areas?

Architecture is considered an art form. It is part of our cultural heritage and shapes the appearance of our cities. Architecture is a significant part of our culture across time and place. Just think of the collective sadness over losing too much of the historic Børsen recently.

Moreover, architecture connects us across the country with a shared understanding of Danish architectural treasures. The country’s many bridges also physically connect us.

On a more practical level, architecture in everyday life spans many areas. It includes housing, but also transport and infrastructure, urban spaces, green areas, harbor baths, parks, and even underground stormwater solutions we might never see. Minister for Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt puts it this way:

»Architecture is more than just the design of cities and buildings. Good architecture can create well-being, communities, and support cohesion in urban and rural areas. It can also help in the green transition and address the very tangible consequences of climate change. In other words: Architecture is too important not to give the area the necessary political focus it deserves. Therefore, we must work towards a new ambitious national architecture policy.«

Previous National Architecture Policies

The history of architecture policy is not very long. In fact, we have only had two before the one the expert group is currently working on recommendations for.

The first national architecture policy was introduced during Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s government in 2007, and the most recent one was from 2014 when Helle Thorning-Schmidt was Prime Minister.

What Can We Expect from a New National Architecture Policy?

Architecture policy will likely always be a product of its time, but conversely, it can also influence what we discuss broadly in society. Ten years is a long time, and today’s agendas and issues are different and perhaps more pressing than in 2014. Notably, the climate crisis and sustainability in the broadest sense are major themes in the expert group’s work.
Minister for Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt has asked the expert group to focus on:

• Public housing for the future
• Sustainable architecture from a holistic perspective
• Active city centers and revitalized villages

In plain English, this means addressing the many dying villages in the country, recognizing that sustainability is here to stay, and building more affordable housing so everyone can live with good architectural quality without needing wealthy parents.

According to Helle Søholt, spokesperson for the expert group and CEO of Gehl Architects, we can expect radical and different proposals for future architecture. This includes addressing crises such as biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and a democratic crisis with a lack of community participation, as well as concrete solutions for how we should live.

There is broad agreement in most of the industry that we need to live a bit smaller, use more climate-friendly materials, and consider the planet’s other species as much as we have always considered ourselves. This involves shifting from a human-centered approach to one that focuses on all living things.

»It fundamentally involves rethinking reality because we are currently facing a paradigm shift. Therefore, we have sought to approach the debate actively within the expert group. Our ambition is to push some agendas and start a process nationally and locally, so we can envision an attractive future, even though it will be radically different,« says Helle Søholt.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons to be interested in the upcoming architecture policy.

This is an English translation made with an AI-based service and subsequently reviewed by an editor. For any clarifications, refer to the original Danish version.