Copenhagen Architecture Biennale: when slowing down becomes a radical, poetic and political act
In a world of constant acceleration, where metropolises are mushrooming and verticality has become the totem of progress, the first Copenhagen Architecture Biennale offers a respite. From September 18 to October 19, 2025, the Danish capital will live at a different pace. Under the theme "Slow Down," it will offer a welcome desynchronization from the global architectural rhythm.
Driven by the vision of Josephine Michau – CEO and founder of CAFx, and also curator of the Danish Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale – this inaugural edition aims to foster critical reflection on the role of architecture in shaping societies and the environment. Here, architecture becomes an act of attentiveness, reconnecting with its surroundings. The focus is on sustainability, longevity, and conscious engagement with our environment. The key words? Slowing down, regeneration, relationship.
The scenographic approach, spread across Copenhagen and Malmö, adopts the register of the poetic fragment. More than 150 events punctuate the program: exhibitions, films, conferences, and performances. Among the notable Danish names, Adept will present "Fast City/Slow Architecture" and Lendager will offer "Living Lab." Exhibitions with international stars such as Atelier Bow-Wow and Rem Koolhaas, sound architecture with Ying-Hsueh Chen, and an event with the Japanese philosopher Kohei Saito are also planned. Open House Copenhagen will invite the public to discover buildings that are usually closed. But it is the two ephemeral pavilions, "Barn Again" and "Inside Out, Downside Up," that crystallize the theme. The first, conceived by architectural designer Tom Svilans & THISS Studio, engineers Bollinger+Grohmann, and Danish carpenters Winther A/S, gives a second life to reclaimed Norwegian wood through a blend of craftsmanship and digital expression. The second project, by the emerging duo Slaatto Morsbøl (Thelma Slaatto and Cecilie Morsbøl), reverses material hierarchies by glorifying salvaged elements—ventilation pipes cut in half, exposed perforated bricks, reclaimed wood, and thatched reeds—transforming them into a tactile and contemplative architecture. Both projects reinterpret the reuse of materials and demonstrate how slowing down the construction industry can be achieved in an aesthetically sublime way.
At the heart of the biennial, the exhibition "Slow Down," at Halmtorvet 27 in Copenhagen and the Form/design Center in Malmö, will take the form of a transdisciplinary mapping of slowing down. It will feature the reflections of Dark Matter Labs, Studio Tideland with Emma Rishøj, and CENTRALA, among other contributors. Their works play with industrial temporalities and create an atmospheric, contextual, and humble architecture. The exhibition aims to present new narratives and concepts for a cultural imagination too closely tied to speed.
Cinema extends these intuitions into the realm of the senses. The film program will feature world premieres, rare gems, and recontextualized classics. The Biennale is proud to present the world premiere of Make Materials Matter, a new portrait film of Søren Pihlmann of Pihlmann Architects, the curator of the Danish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Alongside it are portrait films of established names, including Aldo Rossi, Scarpa, Rem Koolhaas, and Kengo Kuma. Tati's classics (Mon Oncle) and Whyte (The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces), introduced by the renowned urban planner Jan Gehl, the perspectives of Kate Orff or Dorte Mandrup, the urban immersions of Bêka & Lemoine (Softly Brutal et Transmutations): everything contributes to shifting architecture towards the realm of lived experience.
Let's not forget "Assemble!", a two-day professional symposium bringing together architects, urban planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Discussions will focus on the structural challenges facing the building sector and new opportunities for the future. The symposium will explore a future where buildings are not extracted from the ground but regenerated, where innovation is not about disruption but about repair. Speakers such as Kate Orff (founder of SCAPE), Indy Johar (founder of Dark Matters Labs), and Anders Lendager (founder of Lendager) will propose new legislation and demonstrate how these futuristic ideas are already taking shape in built or planned projects. The program will also include panel discussions and case studies with Søren Pihlmann, Dan Stubbergaard, Rikke Juul Gram, Michaël Ghyoot, and others.
It is no coincidence that the biennial will open at the iconic Thorvaldsens Museum. On September 18, the festive, public opening day will offer performances, DJ sets, and culinary delights for all ages. Taking place in the heart of Copenhagen's cultural district, the opening coincides with a neighborhood-wide celebration where numerous museums will offer free admission and special events. The entire celebration is free and open to the public. The shift from an annual festival format to a biennial reflects this same desire for density, duration, and breathing space.
Slower, yes. But sharper. Slower, but more lucid. In a world of urgency, slowing down isn't running away: it's taking root to act more effectively. This autumn, Copenhagen will become the discreet epicenter of this gentle revolution. A revolution on a human scale, unfolding in real time, where architecture rediscovers its noblest mission: to connect us.
CAFx Biennial
Copenhagen Architecture Forum
Halmtorvet 27, Copenhagen
From 18 September to 19 October 2025
Arianna Tonon
