Architecture Fringe on Tour: Copenhagen Architecture Biennial

I had the privilege of attending the final week of the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial, the first iteration of the festival’s format from Copenhagen Architecture Forum. The theme ‘Slow Down’ allowed the audience to ‘investigate architecture as matters of time and means of slowing down overheated sites, cities and societies.’ The month-long, 250 event programme was predominantly centred around Copenhagen itself, however events were also held in Aarhus, Aalborg, and Odense, with the exhibition itself collaborating with the Form Design Centre in Malmo.

The trip started by visiting the two Slow Pavilions; ‘Inside Out, Downside Up’ by Slaatto Morsbøl on Søren Kierkegaards Plads, which was made solely from reused materials which represented the materiality of its neighbours, whilst also simply allowing the opportunity for visitors to enjoy its position by the canal. The second was ‘Barn Again’ by Tom Svilans and Thiss Studio in Gammel Strand. This pavilion stood to reimagine rural Norwegian architecture with modern joinery techniques. It also played host to some of the compelling HouseEurope! events that questioned government policies and delved into the potential of socially rooted built environments.

Whilst there, I met with Søren Nørkjær Bang, Head of Program at Copenhagen Architecture Forum, at their main office in Halmtorvet. We spoke about the change from an Annual to Biennial programme, and how the theme is a welcomed vision to this new format. We spoke about the deeper connections this allows us and the opportunities this time gave us to establish a carefully curated festival. Søren gave me a tour around the Slow Down exhibition within their office, and the individual response to the biennial theme. Particular exhibits that stood out were Centrala Architects’ ‘Celestial Architecture’ featuring poetic scale models looking at the cosmos and ‘Show Me the Budget’ by Byers Rum and multiple collaborators—a 1:250 scale model of Refshaleøen envisioning democratic urban development.

One of the programmed events I attended at the Halmtorvet HQ was ‘Evening without Borders’, hosted by humanitarian organisation Architects Without Borders, which showcased graduate proposals focusing on empathetic, people-first design. In particular, responses such as ‘Domestic Fortress’ by Alain Kay Van Garderen, which looked to seek alternatives to temporary housing through reusing material to rehouse those displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a similar vein, ‘Refugee Resettlement’ by Anastasiya Volkova, worked with Migration Scotland resettlement policies, sought to propose a development by Loirston Loch, Aberdeen. This enabled a safe refuge and a renewed opportunity to integrate within local communities. All the proposals were socially and politically conscious and made the audience rethink what human-centric design can, and should be.

Events I also caught were the film screening of ‘Bawa’s Garden’ by Clara Kraft Isono, which beautifully portrayed the life and legacy of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, ‘The Garden of Decay – Entangled Ecologies’ by Transfer , imagining a post-human future and ‘City Shrine’ by Dicki Lakha created a contemplative space within the industrial landscape of Refshaleøen.

If anything, this biennial taught me the act of deceleration creates a deeper understanding of our natural and built environment, that explores architecture’s role in shaping inclusive and imaginative futures.

Congratulations to the Copenhagen Architecture Forum team for a successful inaugural Biennial. The experience was deeply inspiring, and I look forward to seeing future iterations and collaborations.

The ‘Slow Down’ exhibition can still be seen at Form Design centre in Malmo until the 23rd November 2025.

–Dom Hogston