As CEO and partner at SLA, I work for an expanded understanding of design – where design is not only about aesthetics or form but about solving complex, systemic challenges, with nature as an equal component. To me, design is a way of creating conditions for life – for humans, plants, animals, and entire ecosystems.
Everything at SLA is design: from planting design and process design to ecosystem design and the design of social meeting places and communities.

I believe in insight-driven design – where deep knowledge of biological and anthropological conditions shapes the solutions. Through our nature-based approach, we strive to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services as fundamental and essential elements in urban development. Nature is not decoration; it is critical infrastructure.

Design can – and must – be a driver of transformation. Public space is one of the most complex design fields today, and it gives us the opportunity to change both our physical surroundings and our collective consciousness. When we design city nature, we are simultaneously designing for health, social cohesion, and climate adaptation. In fact, we are designing for a whole new way of thinking and living.

The cities of the future require us to rethink our design paradigms – to put life before bricks. Only when we feel nature in our everyday lives can we understand that we ourselves are nature – and design accordingly.

• Graduated architect from the Aarhus School of Architecture and The Bartlett School of Architecture in London
• CEO and Senior Partner at SLA
• Master in Innovation & Leadership from Copenhagen Business School
• Board member of the Danish Architecture Center
• Member of the European Commission’s 12-person expert committee New European Bauhaus Facility