With more than 250 exhibitors, it would be futile to write a conventional review of the School of Architecture’s graduation exhibition by highlighting selected participants.
Instead, I will attempt to describe the structure of the exhibition, point out a few key trends, and assess how the presentation and communication of the projects have been approached.

The graduation exhibition – featuring students from the design, conservation, and architecture programmes – is displayed in the high-ceilinged spaces at Holmen. In one of the halls, a temporary mezzanine has even been constructed on scaffolding, allowing projects to be presented as objects and images mounted on large panels.

All the different academic tracks within the schools are represented. One area is dedicated to clothing and furniture design, another to digital and graphic design, and then there are the various architectural disciplines, where renovation and transformation, urban renewal, and the enhancement of public spaces – unsurprisingly – play a significant role. Sustainability is a key concept throughout.

The Role of the Designer and Architect Has Changed

Unlike in the past, there are few proposals for new builds. And rightly so – in a country like Denmark, where development is so extensive that new students must instead consider how to repurpose suburban homes or upgrade modernist high-rise buildings. These were once, in their own ways, rapidly constructed housing types meant to meet the demand for better living conditions that followed the post-war rise in prosperity during the second half of the 20th century. Efficient for their time – but now often worn down and potentially containing hazardous construction and insulation materials.

How should we deal with them?
What do we do with parts of the built heritage that aren’t culturally or historically invaluable, but simply stripped of function?
How do we transform buildings that have lost their purpose?
How can we reuse the materials as much as possible?

The New Generation of Designers and Architects Are Seeking Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Globally, the construction industry – as highlighted in a concurrent exhibition on reuse at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) – is said to account for around one-third of total resource consumption. And although the world’s population has only quadrupled over the past hundred years, resource use in the building sector has increased by a factor of 34. Naturally, much of this reflects progress that has improved the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people – but quality of life stands to improve even further if future architects and designers develop intelligent solutions for a better world. And that, among much else, is what’s at stake in this year’s graduation exhibition.

Other aspects are important too – such as material studies. How do we handle plastic waste? Could mycelium be used as an insulating material?

Another vital field of work is the transformation of architecturally and culturally significant buildings – from the historic Stock Exchange to industrial harbours, railway stations, and even the former studio of the Funen painter Peter Hansen – into new functions. The ambition in such cases is to preserve the spirit of the place and the character of the building.

There are also ideas aimed at improving transitions and connections – between buildings, cemeteries and parks, but also between the city and the surrounding landscape. It wasn’t long ago that the prevailing view was that nature was nature, and the city was the city. Urban areas were supposed to have a clear edge – as the saying went – and the two were not to be mixed. That, supposedly, was the role of the suburb, dreary as it was often considered. But that is no longer the case. We now recognise nature as a vital quality in urban life.

Finally, there is perhaps also an ethical obligation – to clean up after the party. On land, at sea, and in the air. The exhibition presents many thoughtful and responsible examples of exactly that.

A Human Approach to Communication Matters

The Royal Danish Academy’s 2025 graduation exhibition is an extensive affair – one that requires either plenty of time or several visits.

A more pragmatic (or perhaps cynical) strategy is to approach it as one might the Venice Architecture Biennale – even more vast in scale – by moving from project to project and seeing what grabs your attention. That often depends on how well the work is communicated.

Here too, simplicity can be a virtue. Some of the more installation-like accumulations of objects, intended to help stage the projects, may be amusing or entertaining.

But if the aim of the exhibition is to reach not just peers but also a wider audience interested in design and architecture, the strongest contributions are often those that make use of (good, i.e. illustrative) photographs and precise drawings. Henning Larsen once said something to the effect that architecture – buildings – only become truly interesting when people inhabit them. In the same spirit, one might say that architecture and design solutions are most meaningful when the people who will live with them are given insight into the ideas behind them.

A particularly effective communicative strategy is the use of small takeaway cards for each project – like visiting cards for further reflection or possible later contact. On the front, you’ll find the project title, the name of the graduate, and a QR code linking to a basic introduction and contact details.

It’s unfortunate that some of these QR codes merely lead to websites that require a password – but this technical issue does not change the fact that the idea itself is fundamentally sound.

And perhaps that glitch has already been fixed by the time you read this. In any case, the conclusion of this review is a clear encouragement: make your way to Holmen and experience the Royal Danish Academy’s inspiring graduation exhibition.

Theme: The Corridors of Power

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