Architecture Through a Social Lens

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 consultancy process, how to open up the industry to a broader spectrum of people, or how to make buildings and spaces more accessible, both physically and just more approachable. But Building Diversity is tackling all of this head on.  Join us as we visit one of Copenhagen's most prominent public spaces to see it through Christine's eye   Guest:   Christine Bjerke, Founder, Architect and Co-founder of Building Diversity Host:   Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios. 

  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 as bioregional architecture. Much like the farm-to-table movement, it is rooted in local resources, materials, skills and craft traditions. The ambition is not only to reduce the environmental impact of construction, but also to create architecture that tells a powerful story about its place and the landscape from which it emerges. At the same time, the project points towards a more regenerative approach to building, where architecture not only minimises its footprint, but actively contributes to nature, biodiversity and local communities.  And it certainly does not hurt that Hedeskov Living Lab is also an extraordinarily beautiful place.  Guest:   Justine Bell, Founder, Djernes & Bell   Host:   Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.   

    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 the world's leading designers keep returning to Dinesen floors.  The episode also visits Orbi, an experimental summer gathering where architecture students, artists and makers come together in the Danish countryside to work with wood, share ideas and rethink the connection between craft, architecture and landscape.  Guest:   Hans Peter Dinesen, Creative Director, Dinesen  Host:   Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios. 

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 site, the conversation reveals an architecture rooted in place, and a new way of thinking about centre and periphery.  Guest:   Reiulf Ramstad, Founding Partner, Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter  Host:   Michael Booth, DAC  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios. 

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 technical infrastructure can contribute positively to landscape, climate and quality of life.  Guest: Louise Flach de Neergaard, Architect, Cobe  Host: Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

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 spaces for play, rest and community life.  The conversation shows how landscape architecture can turn billion-euro flooding risks into a quality-of-life bonus, and why starting with nature may be the key to building more resilient, liveable cities.  Guest: Mette Skjold, CEO & Senior Partner, SLA  Host: Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

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 a city within a city.  Moving from harbour-level plazas to dramatic interior spaces and rooftop terraces, the conversation explores how BLOX has evolved from controversy to everyday use, a flexible, lived-in building where culture, work and city life intersect.  Guest: Kent Martinussen, CEO, Danish Architecture Center Host: Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

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.  Together they discuss the centre's boomerang-shaped footprint, full timber construction and soaring atrium, and how architecture can gently nudge behaviour, foster wellbeing and create spaces that feel inclusive without feeling exposed.  Guest:  Dorte Mandrup, Arkitekt, Dorte Mandrup A/S  Host: Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

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 breakthroughs, the impossible holes in the ground — and the thrill of watching a once-in-a-lifetime project finally rise to the surface. Opening in 2027, the museum will feature new worlds dedicated to Danish nature and Greenland and rumoured to have everything from dinosaurs to a Blue Whale skeleton.  Guest: Claus Pryds Host:  Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios. 

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, ecologist and founder of Oiko  Host: Michael Booth  Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.