Introducing the biennale cycle to our activities aims to strengthen our local roots while evolving our international influence, setting the agenda for the global discourse on architecture in order to contribute to a more sustainable and equitable urban future.
CAFx believes that architecture is relevant to everyone, and that a wider understanding of architecture amongst not only professionals, but the public, can drive change. Since its very beginning, CAFx has been a democratic facilitator of open exchanges - between disciplines, cultures, institutions, actors and methodologies - which challenge and evolve the field of architecture, always evolving around the ethical dimensions of architecture: how it affects the well-being of the individual, communities, our eco-systems, and the planet, and what we can do to improve it.
“Our role in the architectural circuit is to enable the exchange of ideas by connecting people and knowledge across social, professional, cultural and methodological divides. A biennale, with more time to qualify content and partnerships than our yearly festival format would permit, can further strengthen that ambition. By gathering different voices and experiences we will explore phenomena and potentials related to the built environment around the globe”
— Josephine Michau, Founder and Director of CAFx
This democratic and non-hierarchical approach, coupled with our ability to bring a professional discourse to a public level, is critical to our unique identity as an organisation. The Copenhagen Architecture Biennale will exist in positive synergy with a continued year-round presence of CAFx, comprising events, exhibitions, cross disciplinary projects and the online Journal platform. This dynamic enables the otherwise often ephemeral nature of the biennale format to be anchored and in dialogue with CAFx’ long term engagement with local communities and international partners around the exploration of architecture’s profound impact on how we live. We believe that with this unique approach, we can strengthen our contribution to drive truly impactful change.
Organisational changes
As CAFx continues to connect with a significantly greater number of partners and stakeholders than we had in our beginnings (2014), we are strengthening ourselves for growth by evolving our structure. Two principal changes over the course of 2022 set us on the right course for development. Our shift from a limited liability company (ApS) to an association means we are now able to spar strategically with a board of directors, whose substantial proportion of architects also gives us greater access to current changes in the field as well as a highly relevant network. Additionally, and significantly, we gained access to permanent premises thanks to the City of Copenhagen, enabling us to have a year-round local presence at Halmtorvet 27 in Kødbyen.
These changes have helped lay the foundations for our core ambitions as we grow: to strengthen our ability to connect people across boundaries and to become an organisation that is more deeply rooted and invested in our local architectural city, while helping set the agenda for international debate in the architectural industry.
Our next step in achieving these ambitions is to change our current yearly festival format to a biennale. This will enable us to build up to an even more impactful ‘moment’ of collaboration and exchange, with deeper critical thinking and stronger partnerships sparking even more powerful ideas for change. It will also allow us to more carefully shape the agenda for our diverse audience of Danish and international professionals, students, and the public as it continues to expand.
Our year-round presence — comprising an event and exhibition space, an online journal and a series of cross-disciplinary projects — will exist in positive symbiosis with the biennale. Each will feed into the other as we continually cultivate our curiosities and push the conversation forward on a local and international scale.
We believe that this change will greatly strengthen our value as an organisation. We look forward to continuing our mission to galvanise the architectural industry into serving as a force for good — for people and the planet.
More updates on the program for 2025 will follow!
