Europe’s New Conference on Architectural Politics

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Copenhagen on September 18–19, 2025, for Assemble! — a two-day glimpse into the building sector of the future, hosted by the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 2025 in collaboration with the Green Youth Movement (Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse).

About Assemble!

Our shared goal is clear: create a building sector that operates within planetary boundaries and ensures a thriving future for both people and planet.

Systemic change can’t happen in silos.

That’s why Assemble! brings together architects, poets, engineers, activists, economists, advertising advisors, developers, legal experts, and practitioners to rethink the regulations, ownership models, and design processes that quietly define our cities. Assemble! is a structural experiment, a policy rehearsal, and a launchpad for bold ideas to become real-world action. It takes you from drafting up inspiring new legislation, to testing its implications, and to creating sustainable, engaging narratives that capture the public imagination—while inspiring change across the sector.

At Assemble!, you will:

• Receive concrete tools for your everyday practice
• Meet and network with peers from across the building sector
• Develop new narratives and strategies to influence decision makers
• Leave with actionable ideas ready to spark long-term impact

We extend our gratitude to our Advisory Board: Nicolai Bo Andersen, Christine Bjerke, Hassan Chaachouh, Kika Brockstedt, Kenneth Balfelt, Mette Skjold, Line Thorup Schulz, Camilla van Deurs, Vibeke Grupe Larsen, Pernille Schyum Poulsen.

Tickets

Ticket includes: Program, lunch, fruit, coffee/tea on both days plus a complimentary drink at the Biennial Opening Party at Thorvaldsens Museum and access to a special tour of the Biennial pavilions.

Earlybird:

DKK 1000,- (Sold out)

Students:

DKK 600,- (Sold out)

Hereafter:

DKK 1500,- (Sold out)

Get your ticket

DAY ONE: Breaking Barriers Through Law / 18 September

Day One delivers radical ideas, rigorous debate, and new inspiration. After the opening speech by Katherine Richardson, you’ll experience innovative law proposals by: Kate Orff, Indy Johhar & Anders Lendager. Their proposals are followed by panel discussions with key players across the building value chain — from developers and engineers to contractors, economists, and legal experts and supported by best-practice case presentations that will showcase how these future-oriented ideas are already taking shape in built and planned projects.

All talks are moderated by

Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss is the director of Danish Architectural Press. He has a background in philosophy from the University of Copenhagen and the Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris IV.

Speakers day one

Portrait of Katherine Richardson speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Opening speech by Katherine Richardson - Professor in Biological Oceanography and leader of Research Centre on Ocean, Climate and Society (ROCS), University of Copenhagen.

Portrait of Kate Orff speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Law proposal by: Kate Orff — landscape architect, founder of SCAPE, and Director of the Urban Design Program at Columbia University— on new legislative strategies for climate adaptation and resilient landscapes.

Portrait of Indy Johar speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Law proposal by: Indy Johar — architect and co-founder of Dark Matter Labs — on imagining a global pause in construction and unlocking new urban futures.

Portrait of Anders Lendager speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Law proposal by: Anders Lendager — architect and founder of Lendager — on rethinking ownership models to power circular architecture.

Rikke Juul Gram— Landscape architect Rikke Juul Gram will present a further developed version of Copenhagen Island, a nature-based climate adaptation plan for Copenhagen

Portrait of Dan Stubbegaard speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Dan Stubbegaard — Founder of Cobe and professor at Harvard University

Portrait of Søren Pihlmann speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Søren Pihlmann (b. 1987) founded the Copenhagen-based office pihlmann architects in 2021.

Portrait of Nicholas Duxbury Ransome speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Nicholas Duxbury Ransome, architect, urban planner and Managing Director at Lendager has been involved in many of Lendager's most ground-breaking projects.

Portrait of Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen is Director of MOBILE - the Danish National Research Foundation's Center of Excellence on Global Mobility Law.

Portrait of Jesse Shapins speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Jesse Shapins is Head of Urban Regeneration at Urban Partners, independently rated as the most sustainable investment firm in the built environment.

Portrait of Lars Jensen speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Lars Jensen — Copenhagen’s City Architect Lars Jensen brings more than 20 years of experience in urban development and architecture in Copenhagen.

Portrait of Kasper Guldager speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Kasper Guldager brings his experience as both an architect, former co-owner of 3XN, and director of the innovation company GXN.

Portrait of Thomas Brenøe speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Thomas Brenøe has been the Director of Insurance and Digitalization at Insurance and Pension Denmark since 2018.

Portrait of Jacob Rask speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Jacob Rask is the director of the Regenerative Built Environment Network at BLOXHUB.

HouseEurope! is an Obel Award-winning citizens’ initiative for an EU-legislation that boosts the renovation of existing buildings.

Portrait of Michael Ghyoot speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Michaël Ghyoot is an architect and researcher in the fields of ecology and reuse and part of Rotor, the Belgian cooperative design practice.

Portrait of Karl-Martin Buch Frederiksen speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Karl-Martin Buch Frederiksen is the leader of The Planetary Project – an interdisciplinary knowledge and vision laboratory initiated by Sweco

Portrait of Inge Røpke speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Inge Røpke is Professor of Ecological Economics at Aalborg University, Copenhagen.

Programme day one

Part 1: Construction Pause and Transformation

8:30 – 9:00: Arrival, Check-in, coffee, wardrobe
9:00 – 9:05: Welcome by CAFx
9:05 – 9:15: Moderator sets the scene (Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss)
9:15 – 9:20: Musical performance (Ying-Hsueh Chen)
9:20 – 9:50: Opening keynote (Katherine Richardson)
9:50 – 10:05: Indy Johar — Law proposal presentation
10:05 – 10:30: Panel debate 1.1: PROBLEM SPACE Indy Johar, Karl-Martin Buch Frederiksen, Dan Stubbergaard, Inge Röpke
10:30 – 10:45: Best practice presentation by House Europe / Olaf Grawert
10:45 – 11:05: Panel debate 1.2: SOLUTION SPACE with policy as focus
House Europe / Olaf Grawert joins the panel
11:05 – 11:20: BREAK
11:20 – 11:25: Moderator introduces new panel for SOLUTION SPACE with practice as focus Indy Johar, Kasper Guldager, Jesse Shapins, Lars Jensen
11:25 – 11:40: Best practice presentation by Søren Pihlmann
11:40 – 12:05: Panel debate 2.1: SOLUTION SPACE with practice in focus Søren Pihlmann joins the panel
12:05 – 12:10: Moderator wraps up
12:10 – 13:00: LUNCH

Part 2: Material Ownership

13:00 – 13:05: Moderator bids welcome back
13:05 – 13:15: Anders Lendager + Nicholas Duxbury Ransome — Law proposal presentation
13:15 – 13:40: Panel debateNicholas Duxbury Ransome, Jacob Rask, Jakob Thaysen Rørbech, Thomas Gammeltoft Hansen
13:40 – 13:55: Best practice presentation by Rotor / Michael Ghyoot
13:55 – 14:15: Panel debateMichael Ghyoot joins the panel
14:15 – 14:20: Moderator wraps up
14:20 – 14:40: BREAK

Part 3: Climate Adaptation

14:40 – 14:45: Musical performance (Ying-Hsueh Chen)
14:45 – 14:50: Moderator bids welcome back
14:50 – 15:15: Kate Orff — Law proposal presentation
15:15 – 15:40: Panel debateKate Orff, Lars Jensen, Thomas Brenøe
15:40 – 15:55: Best case presentation by Schønherr / Rikke Juul Gram
15:55 – 16:20: Panel debate Rikke Juul Gram joins the panel
16:20 – 16:30: Moderator wraps up the day and introduces the programme for Day 2

DAY TWO: Narrating Change / 19 September

Day Two turns awareness into action through panels, presentations and a participatory workshop - hosted with The Green Youth Movement. To shift systems and spark change, we need new shared stories, common causes and communicative strategies. Day Two shapes strategies and sharpens skills to spark momentum that stretches far beyond the conference itself.

All talks are moderated by

Christine Roj is a freelance journalist with a degree in political theory. She primarily writes climate stories for Danish magazines and newspapers and is a regular contributor to Atlas Magasin and Føljeton.

Speakers day two

Frederik Preisler founded Propaganda, which has since become Mensch.

Søren Pihlmann (b. 1987) founded the Copenhagen-based office pihlmann architects in 2021.

Portrait of HY William Chan speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

HY William Chan is an architect and the youngest-ever politician elected to Sydney City Hall's government

Portrait of Esther Michelsen Kjeldahl speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Esther Michelsen Kjeldahl is a philosopher, author, and climate activist.

Portrait of Liv Sejrbo Lidegaard speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Liv Sejrbo Lidegaard holds a Master's degree in Comparative Literature and is a graduate of the Literary Composition program in Gothenburg.

Portrait of Christele Harrouk speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Christele Harrouk is an architect, urban designer, and Editor-in-Chief of ArchDaily, the world's leading architecture platform

Portrait of Christian Poll speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Christian Poll is a chief consultant at the Danish Consumer Ombudsman and an expert in sustainability

Portrait of Mikkel Krause Frantzen speaker at CAFx Biennial - Assemble! conference

Mikkel Krause Frantzen is an Associate Professor in Environmental Aesthetics at the University of Copenhagen.

Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse

Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss is the director of Danish Architectural Press. He has a background in philosophy.

Programme day two

Part 1: Why Stories Matter

8:30 – 9:00: Check-in, coffee, wardrobe
9:00 – 9:05: Welcome by Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse
9:05 – 9:20: Setting the scene
Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss, Christine Roj
9:20 – 9:30: Sound journey
9:30 – 9:50: “Extreme Thinking for Extreme Times — or, How to Balance Realism and Utopianism” (Mikkel Krause Frantzen)
9:50 – 10:05: Workshop with Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse
10:05 – 10:10: Moderator wraps up
10:10 – 10:30: BREAK

Part 2: The Matter of Stories

10:30 – 10:35: Moderator introduces Part 2
10:35 – 10:40: Introduction of panel
Liv Sejrbo-Lidegaard, Frederik Preisler, Søren Pihlmann
10:40 – 10:45: Reading of letters Liv Sejrbo-Lidegaard and Frederik Preisler
10:45 – 11:30: Panel debate
11:30 – 11:40: Questions from the audience
11:40 – 11:45: Moderator wraps up
11:45 – 12:00: BREAK

Part 3: The Ethical Matter

12:00 – 12:05: Moderator introduces Part 3
12:05 – 12:50: Panel debateChristele Harrouk, Christian Poll, HY William Chan, Esther Kjeldahl
12:50 – 13:00: Questions from the audience
13:00 – 13:05: Moderator wraps up and introduces collective end-gesture
13:05 – 13:20: Collective end-gesture
15:55 – 16:20: Panel debate - Rikke Juul Gram joins the panel
13:20: A light lunch is served in the courtyard
End of Assemble! 2025