Unesco has just announced that Copenhagen will be the world capital of architecture in 2023. After Rio de Janeiro this year, it will be the second city to benefit from this label. This year’s theme: Sustainable futures – Leave no one behind.

From 2 to 7 July 2023, the Scandinavian capital will host the World Congress of the UIA, the International Union of Architects. Thomas Vonier, its president, commented on this decision with reference to the Covid-19 crisis. “Architecture and design can help improve the future, prevent disasters, help communities get back on their feet, applying lessons that help prevent future health or environmental disasters. When things are designed and built responsibly, architecture is a tool for social and human progress.”

The goal of the ambitious plan presented by the city to obtain this label is to build a sustainable future, which will not leave no one behind. The ambitions are high: to ensure that the city benefits from carbon neutrality by 2025 (tomorrow, so to speak). The City of Copenhagen has always been attentive to the environment. And the prospect of 2023 should accelerate the process, not only for politicians but also for its residents. The programme, details of which have yet to be defined, is in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

Copenhagen enjoys design and architecture offices that have already won many awards for sustainable urban projects. Examples include: non-profit social housing, urban farms, roofs of buildings used as a gym, ecological buildings built from wood from sustainably managed forests, a school designed to promote children’s physical activity, spaces mixing leisure and water reprocessing…

This urban greenhouse in Copenhagen is capable of producing two to three tonnes of crops per year, on just 50m2. © Abdellah Tadian, humanhabitat.dk

Tags: 17 objectives, Copenhagen, International Union of Architects, UIA, Unesco, United Nations