Rethinking the Commons
Public spaces are the living rooms of our cities — places where strangers become neighbours, where cultures cross-pollinate, where democratic life plays out in the open. But the pressures of the 21st century are transforming what public space can and must do.
Rising temperatures, increasing density, and the post-pandemic renegotiation of work and leisure are all forcing designers, planners, and cities to reconsider the basics. What does a park need to do in 2040 that it did not need to do in 1990?
Climate as Design Driver
In Copenhagen, we designed Superkilen as a landscape of collective identity — 108 objects gathered from 60 nations, embedded into a 750-metre park that cuts through one of Europe's most diverse neighbourhoods. The programme was straightforward: give everyone a piece of home, and watch the neighbourhood claim the space as its own.
But today, every project we touch must also answer harder questions. How does this space cool the city? How does it manage stormwater? How does it stay habitable when the temperature hits 38 degrees?