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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Right now, 150 new community spaces are being built across Denmark – primarily using recycled materials – as part of an extraordinary project called Vores Sted (Our Place). Funded by the Danish philanthropic association Realdania, the project aims to reinvent the community gathering place for the 21st century. The community spaces, designed as four distinct types of pavilions, are the result of a collaboration between Danish architectural firms ReVærk, Cobe, Archival Studies, pihlmann architects, Rumgehør og Studio XYZ. In this episode our host Michael Booth, takes a trip to the southern Jutland town of Tønder with ReVærk's founding partner, Simeon Østerlund Bamford, to visit one of the new pavilions - and to discover the surprising source of the materials used to build it. Guest: Simeon Østerlund Bamford, Partner ReVærk Host: Michael Booth Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

Bjarke Ingels Group – BIG – is one of Denmark's most internationally acclaimed architecture studios, with high-profile projects across the globe. Not long ago, the firm moved into its own seven-story raw concrete-and-glass headquarters, prominently located on the harbour in Copenhagen's Nordhavn district. But what happens when a firm like BIG gets the chance to design its own headquarters? What role did sustainability play in the process, and what can the new BIG HQ tell us about the company behind the name? Join us as founder of BIG, Bjarke Ingels, invites host Michael Booth on an exclusive tour of BIG HQ and shares the thinking behind the building's design – and what it's like to be both architect and client. Let's Talk Architecture is a Danish Architecture Center podcast. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

It's not every day a new park opens in the centre of a capital city, and this one is extra special. Copenhagen's new Opera Park is not just a nice place to relax in the shadow of the opera house. It represents a radical departure from the type of parks found elsewhere in the city: this harbourfront garden is a place for the contemplation of nature, of trees and plants from around the world, of water, and of sky. It's blessedly free from programming - there are no cycle paths, no running tracks, no outdoor gyms and no playgrounds. For this episode we are lucky enough to be joined by its designer, Maj Wiwe, landscape director at Cobe. She explains the original idea behind the park, but also the extraordinary technical challenges involved in constructing a mature garden with 10 metre-high trees and a cafe. On top of a multi-storey car park. Which is buried underground. On reclaimed land. In the harbour. You see what we mean by challenges?

What role does architecture policy play in shaping our cities and everyday lives? With a white paper on the future of architecture and planning in Denmark about to be published, we explore how policy can address major challenges—from climate change to urban revitalization. Join host Michael Booth as he speaks with Kent Martinussen, CEO of Danish Architecture Center and a member of the expert committee tasked by the Ministry of Culture with drafting the policy, and Jesper Pagh, Chief Architect of Horsens Municipality, about the past, present, and future of architecture as a tool for societal change. Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Sound edits by Munck Studios.

The 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.

Mette Mechlenborg, senior researcher at Aalborg University, is the co-author of a new study on life in Danish high-rise residential buildings—the first of its kind in over fifty years. This long gap is partly due to Denmark's historical reluctance to embrace high-rise living, especially for families. However, the landscape is shifting, with several tall towers now rising near Copenhagen's city center and more on the way. So, what has changed since the last study? In this episode of Let's Talk Architecture, host Michael Booth meets Mette at Nordbro in Nørrebro, one of the buildings featured in her research. Together, they explore the qualities of high-rise living and ask the question: Can Danish families truly live happy and fulfilling lives 100 metres above the ground? Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by the Danish Architecture Center.

How can architecture transform the experience of healthcare for children? Can design elements like colors, materials, shapes, and daylight even help improve the young patients' lives? Denmark is about to get its first purpose-built children's hospital, Børneriget, which is scheduled to open in 2026 in central Copenhagen. Børneriget aims to redefine pediatric healthcare with its unique "finger plan" layout, focusing on creating a welcoming and safe environment through thoughtful design. But how can these elements enhance patient well-being and improve the hospital experience? In this episode of Let's Talk Architecture, host Michael Booth explores the design of Børneriget with lead architect, Stig Gothelf, senior partner at 3XN, and My Lunsjö, Associate and Behavioral Specialist at sister company GXN. Together they dive into the research behind their design choices, discussing how aspects like color schemes and views of nature are intended to reduce stress and support healing. Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by the Danish Architecture Center, with sound edits by Munck Studios.

The term '15 Minutes City' was coined in 2016 to describe a locally oriented urban design strategy. Shops, healthcare, education, work, and entertainment – all should be accessible within a 15 minutes' walk or bike ride from your home. The aim is to create a people-centered urban development that decentralizes to create more lively local neighborhoods. The concept is already being implemented in cities across the world – from Paris, Madrid, and Copenhagen to Shanghai and Bogotá. But what are the benefits of this model? How can it help reduce the cities' carbon footprint? And why has it recently been subject to right wing misinformation and conspiracy theories, claiming that the concept is a 'totalitarian control experiment'? In this episode, hos Michael Booth meets the Executive Director of global mayoral network, C40 Cities, Mark Watts. Mark Watts shares how the C40 Cities are incorporating the principles of the 15 minutes city with transformative success. Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center.

Concrete and steel. We know that both of these mainstream building materials come with a massive CO2 cost, and that we need to find alternatives. One way forward is the reintroduction of traditional materials and invention of new bio-based materials. But the implementation of the new materials requires large and challenging changes for the entire building industry. What will it take to kickstart these massive changes? And what happens when starting at a more tangible level: With the building materials themselves? In this episode, Michael Booth visits Denmark's first bio-based construction marketplace, Havnens Hænder ("The Harbour Hands"), to understand the impact of introducing biomaterials. Two of Havnens Hænder's three founders, Magnus Henriques and Mikkel Damgaard Nielsen, introduces Booth to innovative building materials such as hempcrete, cork, and mycelium, and together they dive into the greatest obstacles and potentials, when it comes to working for a greener building industry. Let's Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center, with sound edits by Munck Studios.