Bringing our Cities consultancy to the Scandinavian market

With a strong track record of delivering sustainable urban development projects in Europe, led by our offices in Berlin and London, we are now offering our Cities consultancy to the architects, urbanists and cities of the Nordics.

We spoke to our team in Copenhagen about what is driving this expansion.

Why now?

Cities and municipalities are going through a time of transition, driven by increasing urbanisation, digitalisation, climate change and the the European Union’s commitment to achieving a carbon neutral continent by 2050. As a result, the awareness and need for socially and environmentally sustainable urban development has increased. 

Architects and urbanists are seeking smart ways to meet these challenges and Buro Happold’s integrated and evidence-based approach to urban planning can help do so.

Launching our Cities consultancy services from our Copenhagen office is a logical consequence. We already have a strong working relationship with the leading architectural firms as a result of working on buildings and masterplans. We are looking forward to strengthening these relationships. 

Can you expand upon the potential of the integrated, evidence-based approach?

Our integrated approach gives us the opportunity to get involved in an urban development project at concept stage. After setting the  strategic goals, we can continue to plan at more detailed level i.e., energy, water and mobility. As part of a multidisciplinary practice, we can then implement these ideas through to construction and operation. This allows us to have a bigger positive impact on a development, as well as ensuring a more efficient implementation of the strategic goals.

We base our strategies and concepts on data. Vast amounts of open-source data are available but often underutilised in the planning process. By developing a data toolkit, we can filter and analyse all kind of data. Based on real evidence, the input of this data adds meaning to our concepts.

For example, climatic data can be used to create an outdoor comfort analysis, or socio-economic data is analysed to understand existing and future structures in the city. When combined with spatial data, this can be used as the basis for creating strategies that meet the future needs of our users. 

What projects are good examples of this approach in action?

The New Gartenfeld in Berlin is a blueprint for an integrated development where Buro Happold has been involved from the early stages, co-shaping the vision with the client.  

Another exemplary project is the vision for the region of Berlin Brandenburg in 2070. We developed our concepts from a thorough analysis of data on social, transportation and energy infrastructure, as well as environmental data. 

What are you looking forward to in your new role?

One of the biggest challenges facing our cities today is global warming so the focus on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions has never been greater. As architects, engineers and built environment professionals, we have the responsibility to push for innovative and sustainable solutions on all our projects.

However, mitigating the climate and biodiversity crisis is not enough. We must ensure that sustainability is considered at all levels. In addition to building green cities and climate positive urban developments, we must also focus on creating healthy social environments. A holistic and integrated approach is something the Buro Happold’s Cities team is always striving towards.  

We recognise that cities and urban environments are complex organisms where everything is intertwined and connected. Working creatively is key to solving these problems.

We are looking forward to embarking upon the design process with our collaborators to come up with robust, forward-thinking solutions that deliver high-quality urban environments.