Past Exhibitions

Everything we build has value – even after it has been used. How can we rediscover the beauty of reuse and create a future where used materials gain new life and circular resources take on new value? How can reuse become part of architecture’s aesthetic? What does architecture look like if we stop throwing things away?

Explore Nanna Ditzel’s groundbreaking designs centered on freedom and movement. The exhibition presents some of Ditzel’s most iconic designs. Designs that challenge our ideas of traditional furniture and let us discover new ways of experiencing the body and spending time together.

Poles are melting, groundwater is rising, and torrential rain is flooding roads and houses. It’s no longer a question of if, but when the water is coming – and how we adapt.

The Danish Design Award 2024 exhibition features innovative proposals for creating positive change for both people and the planet. The award celebrates precisely those types of design solutions.

Fire dam. Depot landscape. Flood barriers. Visual artist and architect Christina Capetillo is fascinated by the man-made landscape that characterizes our contemporary world. Experience her pragmatic yet poetic black and white landscape photographs in the exhibition True Nature.

Through fascinating installations created by recognized design studios such as Our Shift, Natural Material Studio, and Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, visitors enter into a world where dreams and reality merge.

It’s about Copenhagen, and it’s about communities: How does architecture shape the way we interact and come together?

Get an overview of Danish architecture from the Viking Age to present day.

People put a Back to nature-sign up in their yard if there are poppies and tall grass instead of a billiard-table lawn. An average kitchen is replaced every 10 years.

Architecture can thrill you or awe you, calm you down or foster connection. It can be caring and protective – or stimulate your curiosity, igniting idle senses and unfolding unseen worlds

The architect and the yellow cat have left a trail of footprints in our exhibition. See if you can locate the kid’s exhibition by following the architect’s footprints or tracing the yellow paws of the cat on its playful journey to the exhibition.

Explore this small photo exhibition showcasing visionary design and architecture that enrich our lives and cities. Discover the inspiring finalists and winning works that have received recognition from the EUmies Awards 2022 jury for their innovative approach to modern architecture.

How do we succeed in creating a sustainable transition of architecture? Explore materials and methods of the future which can help pave the way for building on the planet’s terms.

In Denmark, we have a strong tradition of community thinking and citizen involvement in architecture.

Under the heading Coastal Imaginaries, the Danish pavilion, curated by Josephine Michau, will shine a spotlight on nature-based design solutions in the struggle against global challenges like rising sea levels and storm floods.

What a Waste is an exhibition that focuses on solving one of the world’s most complex problems: waste from industry and overproduction of virgin materials.

Listen and experience urban tales in the company of author and social pundit Knud Romer and the architects WERK.

Experience the video installation Neutrino Ensemble, a film by the Argentine artist Cecilia Bengolea, created for the exhibition Yet, It Moves! at Copenhagen Contemporary. The video installation is also one of four installations in the Copenhagen urban space.

In select locations around the city, you can experience experimental pavilions, each of which relates to one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Danish Architecture Center is neighbor to several of the pavilions, making it easy to combine a visit.

What does the city look like if we cut away sunsets and summer days? If we look at the city with brutally honest eyes, what other images show up?

The Copenhagen of Dreams is a stroll through a Copenhagen which might have been, but never came to pass because of economics, policy, protests, doubt, stupidity and everything in-between. In some cases this was a relief; in others it was a pity.

For 100 years, welfare architecture has been a key focus in Denmark. The evidence is in our schools, hospitals, airports and other important buildings in our everyday lives – buildings where people, life situations, function and design form a perfect synthesis with the vision of creating architecture for everyone. The Danish architectural firm, Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, has been involved from the very beginning, creating people-centric architecture for 100 years.

In DAC’s Design Lounge we spotlight architecture on the smallest scale as we explore the history of Danish design. Have a seat in design classics and feel the tides of history as we journey from the masters of Modernism to today’s brightest stars.

DAC’s exhibition tells a love story about Copenhagen, filled with romance and broken hearts. We call the exhibition Copenhagen by Heart.

What does it mean to build a habitat for a place other than Earth? The most basic elements on Earth such as air, stable temperature, water and food are not available, and must therefore be considered in the design of a lunar base.

Four fantastic collages: Join us on a journey into a sustainable future universe created by the idea-driven architecture studio Open Platform.

Discover fascinating and never-before-told stories of women in architecture in our latest exhibition: Women in Architecture.

Explore the 56 photos who are awarded as the best in the photo contest Capture Your City. For the 7th time in a row you can experience great photographs taken by photo enthusiasts in all ages.

The world’s first design hotel celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020. The SAS Royal Hotel – now the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel – is one of Arne Jacobsen’s most iconic buildings.

How can we live more sustainably, without losing quality of life? Can architecture help us to live better?

In the graphic series Understanding the Impact of Architecture John Kørner zooms in on architecture’s affect and impact on society.

As a fan of Danish design brands, chances are that you already own or covet a product designed by Cecilie Manz. This exhibition is an immersive experience in Manz’s design process; to behold, sense and appreciate her elaborative approach to realizing the ultimate product.

Biodiversity is collapsing, sea levels are rising, and weather is becoming more extreme and unpredictable.

For the Danish contribution to the 17th Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy, curator Marianne Krogh and architects Lundgaard & Tranberg are creating a sensory space focused on water as a phenomenon.

How do you create sustainable designs that can be passed on for generations? Get a close-up look at the French house Hermès when it moves into DAC this fall. Meet eleven artisans, including leathermakers, a watchmaker, a saddler and silk printers, as they demonstrate their skills.

You encounter architecture every single day. But did you realize that architecture creates the framework for how you live your life – and live life together with others? We often know the facade, but not the story behind it.

Experience the 55 photographs selected as the year’s best in the photo competition Capture Your City. The exhibition, now in its 6th consecutive year, is on display at Bryghuspladsen and at several libraries across the country.

Denmark will be strongly represented at this year’s Milan Design Week with a remarkable exhibition on sustainable architecture and design. This year, the Danish contribution to the world’s most important design event is about circular economy, recycling, green conversion and climate solutions.

We pay tribute to Danish architecture and design and dive into the myths behind what has made Denmark and Copenhagen popular throughout the world: the good everyday life.

Bring your entire family to the exhibition Kids’ City and discover a sensory universe with houses upside down, giant chairs and a bicycle snake. Learn how good architecture can make life in the city healthier and more fun for everyone.

Do you remember VenligBolig (FriendlyHousing)? The refugee homes that made headlines in Denmark amid the refugee crisis in 2015? ONV Architects is the studio behind the much-debated housing.

55 photographs are exhibited as part of the Capture Your City photo competition. The competition, held this year for the 5th consecutive year, set a record with over 5,500 photos submitted.

How do we design for a climate-challenged future? On November 8th, The Cabinetmaker’s Autumn Exhibition opens at DAC to unveil innovative and experimental examples of tomorrow’s furniture design.

In collaboration with Dreyers Fund, DAC provides a platform for three talented and influential architectural firms, each showcasing their visions for the future of architecture in their own exhibition.

Join the world-renowned Danish architects BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group on an architectural journey across time from Big Bang to Singularity.

How does it look when our cities change? See what the Danes think in the photo exhibition Capture Your City. Explore how our cities are full of quirky details, new urban spaces and beautiful architecture. Also in places where we don’t always pay attention.

In a time where the world’s cities are growing rapidly, we and Roskilde Festival focus on the development of sustainable cities and UN’s 2030 goal # 11.

In Spring 2019, we open the doors to one of the greatest Danish architects of our time: Dorte Mandrup.

In 2018 Jørn Utzon would have celebrated his 100th birthday. We honor the Danish starchitect with the solo exhibition Horisont presenting Utzon’s many travels and his curiosity for foreign cultures which influenced his wonderful iconic architecture.

DAC’s Fall-Winter exhibition is a close-up of one of the greatest Danish pioneers of the 20th century in architecture and engineering: Ove Arup.

DAC and Aarhus School of Architecture tune in on the latest trends in architectural research.

In Dreyers Arkitektur Galleri three architecture firms get free rein to create their own exhibitions.

The Danish submission to the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia presents a Danish approach to innovation through four projects selected by curator Natalie Mossin.

Between September 7 and October 21 you can experience visual artist Ursula Nistrup’s impressive exhibition Pink Pillars in the Harbor Entrance outside DAC.

What makes us feel at home in the city? Is it the communities, the life between the buildings, the open spaces or the quiet park? Experience DAC’s first exhibition at Bryghuspladsen in front of BLOX.

Now, the Danish contribution to last year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture is coming home to the Danish Architecture Center. The exhibition, Art of Many and The Right to Space shows how Danish architects insist on creating high quality architecture to benefit the community as a whole – not just the select few.

Architects design houses. People create homes. With Welcome Home, Danish Architecture Center put the future of Danish housing on the agenda. DAC raised the question of why we live as we do and invited you to explore and participate in the discussion on how we will live in the future. What are our dreams? How will the reality be like? And what are good homes, good neighborhoods and good cities?

The photography exhibition took a look at how we form the city and how the city forms us. The exhibition focused on the interaction between the people and the architecture.

The Danish healthcare system is under pressure. However, new technology also brings new opportunities. The Danish regions plan to renovate and build 43 new hospitals by 2025 to make them better equipped to care for us all. The ambition for the new hospitals is to be people-centric.

This exhibition features an encounter with the next wave of Danish architecture – recounted and conveyed by three talented young architecture practices: lenschow & pihlmann, Arcgency and Studio Fountainhead.

Who buy the most bananas – owners or tenants? And did you know that every day you use 39 litres of water just for taking a shower and using the toilet? The exhibition Built Denmark was based on facts and human stories about our built environment, and the hugely important role those facts and stories play in our everyday lives.

This exhibition focused on the Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi, who creates sustainable and self-sufficient buildings by utilising local movements in air, water and light.

Inside our children’s exhibition, Bring on the waste visitors learned about upcycling – how to transform waste into something brand new!

Floors made from car tyres, ceilings from plastic bottles and walls from reclaimed wood. The Wasteland exhibition by Lendager Group at the Danish Architecture Center challenged our relationship with waste and invited us to explore the near future where waste will play a vital role in how we live, work and consume.

This exhibition offered a unique peek into the day-to-day reality of three young architectural firms.

On 14 October 2016 the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) opened an exhibition about the Danish architectural practice, Cobe. In just ten years, Cobe have managed to establish themselves as a leading practice with a great understanding of the function of architecture as a social engine. On the basis of this philosophy, they have made a wide-ranging popular breakthrough with projects such as the new Nørreport Station, Israels Plads and the development of Nordhavn.

The Danish contribution to the Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy in 2016 was a snapshot of a new humanism in Danish architecture. With a wunderkammerof architectural prototypes, the two curators behind the exhibition seeked to highlight the humanistic focus of Danish architecture in 2016.

Let’s play, the summer exhibition of 2016, was about how we can use urban space as a place for sport and movement. Let’s play – the big summer exhibition of 2016 and event at The Danish Architecture Center spotlighted this very question, and therefore we invited anyone who felt inclined to try their hand at new forms of movement in our temporary, outdoor arena.

Over the past 10-15 years the Internet and social media have radically transformed our lives. Now, our cities and towns are experiencing the same digital revolution. The exhibition, Update, shined spotlight on the smart towns and cities of tomorrow and sparked off debates on how to deploy Big Data to create better towns and cities without too much “Big Brother”.

Which materials should we use in the future when building housing? From January till March you could follow the construction of the Generic Structure Cell that was a project experimenting with new materials.

Visitors could join in on an eye opening journey across China and learn just how big the contrasts between the giant cities of China and the everyday life of their citizens on street level are.

In the summer, we hang out at the waterfront and have our dinners out in city parks and squares. In the winter time, we hibernate and rush through the urban spaces seeking warmth indoors. But can we create an urban space and activities that can also foster urban life in winter? The Winter City exhibition showed how to utilise the city’s spaces in new ways during the winter months.

The exhibition Groundbreaking Constructions – 100 Danish Breakthroughs that Changed the World focused on the developments in the history of construction that changed our perception of what is possible: those quantum leaps, which not only tackled the challenges posed by a single building, but also changed the world.

Capture Your City was a celebration of life in the city, showing more than 1000 personal perspectives on the city caught on camera during the summer of 2015.

The summer of 2015 the Danish Architecture Center were welcoming Snøhetta to Copenhagen. Snøhetta is a mountain in Norway – and the most talked-about architecture firm in Scandinavia.

An exhibition about the people, the initiative, and the commitment that change the city. Architects and city planners don’t create our cities. Neither do politicians or big companies. Actually, we as citizens have big influence on how we use and live in the cities.

What role can architecture and city planning play in conflict areas? The exhibition The Good Cause -Architecture for Peace focused on a special kind of architecture and city planning that is far from star architects and opera houses but was deeply involved in creating trust, ownership and security in areas hit by war, conflicts or other violent events.

Water running into our basements has become something that many of us are familiar with. We need to get used to increasingly heavier rainfalls. And we need to adjust our cities accordingly. What is the best way to do that? And in the process of adapting our cities to the climate changes, can we create better cities too? The exhibition The Rain is Coming – how climate change adaptation can create better cities showed us how we can avoid having our basements turned into swimmingpools, and how to create recreational urban spaces that are able to contain the rain water.

Can logging be beautiful? Seen from above, it creates the most delicate patterns, but the story behind it is scary – large parts of the rain forest are disappearing every day. The exhibition, Mind the Earth, at the Danish Architecture Center showed the Earth’s transformation, using selected photos from Google Earth, providing insights into how diverse, resilient, but also vulnerable our planet is.

The big exhibition in The Danish Architecture Center, Reprogramming The City – Opportunities for Urban Infrastructure was curated by urban strategist and writer Scott Burnham, who explores a new paradigm of urban creativity and resourcefulness.

People met the smell of dirt, heard the sound of poetry and burried their toes in pine needles at the Danish pavilion at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2014.

Architecture and art have always had a close relationship. In the exhibition House in Motion artist Jes Fomsgaard and architect Anders Abraham, together with the Danish Architecture Center, explored the shared space between architecture and art.

The Heart of the Stone – Close up III: Lundgaard & Tranberg was Danish Architecture Center’s big summer exhibition created by the writer, Tor Nørretranders.

The exhibition Shifts looked at the influence of the financial crisis on architects and architecture’s social role.

The Banality of Good provided visitors with a different perspective on sustainability. The exhibition approached the concept from a social angle, in the context of urban planning.

You probably know something about Greenland. But do you also know something about modern Greenland? Greenland is en route to the center of the world – and in this exhibition, we invited you to come along!

A digital exhibition project, which challenged the “disturbance” caused by digital technologies and generates new conditions for urban space, architecture and life in general.

The travelling exhibition Copenhagen Solutions demonstrated Copenhagen’s green urban buildings and development was displayed at Oslo Architecture Triennale.

This exhibition at The Danish Architecture Center featured the work of the internationally acclaimed star architect Zaha Hadid in her first solo exhibition in Scandinavia.

The exhibition Your Harbour at the Danish Architecture Center cast the spotlight on the rapid development of Copenhagen’s inner harbour. As it develops, the Harbour becomes an increasingly attractive, fascinating and open recreational area, providing the people of Copenhagen with a wonderful range of activities and experiences.

Copenhagen Solutions was a travelling exhibition, which presented Copenhagen’s target of becoming the world’s first CO2 neutral capital by 2025.

'Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center' by Danish Henning Larsen Architects, Icelandic Batteriið Arkitekter and artist Olafur Eliasson has won this year’s European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award. The Danish Architecture Center celebrated the prize award with the exhibition Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center.

Copenhagen Solutions was a travelling exhibition, which presented Copenhagen’s target of becoming the world’s first CO2 neutral capital by 2025.

The exhibition In dialogue with the world – architecture by Henning Larsen Architects, Schmidt hammer lassen architects and ADEPT showed how today’s architects are bound by many other considerations than the purely aesthetic, when they create their buildings.

Possible Greenland – the Danish/Greenlandic contribution to the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice 2012 – was displayed in Nuuk. The exhibition, which received high praise in Venice, explored how architecture can contribute to the positive development of Greenland and the Greenlandic society.

Europe’s best architecture – European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2011.

The exhibition Copenhagen Solution showed Copenhagen’s ambition to become the world’s first CO2 neutral capital in 2025

A project developing new visions for the future of Greenland. The results will be exhibited at the Danish Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2012.

The exhibition Material World in The Danish Architecture Center showed how new ways of using materials give the architecture new structures, expressions, and experiences. There were a hundred different materials in this exhibition, divided into five categories: strong, lightweight, green, smart and transparent.