Dan Stubbergaard, “City as a Resource – Cobe’s Current Works on the City”

Dan Stubbergaard, who is trained as an architect from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, in Copenhagen, founded Cobe in 2006. Inspired by the transformation of Copenhagen from an industrial port city to a beacon for livability and sustainability, he is the leading figure in Cobe’s work to create surroundings that actively contribute to extraordinary everyday life. Stubbergaard believes architects have a profound responsibility to create resilient, long-term solutions that improve life–cities, buildings, and landscapes that are made to outlast our generation.

His research focuses on investigating solutions, tools, and methodologies across several topics or themes of interest, including resilient urban development, green mobility, transformation and reuse, new ways of building, social responsibility, urban nature, and longevity. Having received national and international acclaim for his work, including the C.F. Hansen Royal Medal from the Danish Academy Council in 2020, Nykredit’s Architecture Award in 2012, and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2006, he has designed and completed award-winning projects globally. Two projects of significant note are the Nordhaven project (Copenhagen, DK) from 2009 onwards that effectively converted a former industrial shipyard into an arguably more sustainable urban district with pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure, and the Paper Island project of 2016 to 2023 (Copenhagen, DK), the conversion of a former industrial site into a vibrant inner-city neighborhood, and with skillful handling of different building scales and elements of the public realm. What is particularly impressive in his projects is the consistency with which he deals with integrating the potential of landscape as an organizing instrument, creating humane environments, privileging reuse and repair as a strategy and developing compelling narratives through systemic thinking.

00:00 Introduction by Peter Rowe
05:09 Lecture by Dan Stubbergaard