Using nature to turn billion Euro flooding into life quality bonus

Using nature to turn billion Euro flooding into life quality bonus

From Let's Talk Architecture by Danish Architecture Center – DAC

February 26, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

The episode discusses how landscape architecture can transform urban flooding challenges into opportunities for enhancing city life.

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.

People in this episode

Host: Michael Booth

Guest: Mette Skjold

Topics covered

  • landscape architecture
  • climate adaptation
  • urban design
  • flood management
  • community spaces

Keywords

  • flooding
  • Copenhagen
  • landscape architecture
  • climate adaptation
  • community life
  • nature-based solutions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SLA

Places: Copenhagen, Bispeparken

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