Impact
For us, architecture is not about form. It’s about impact. A deep commitment to make a positive difference for organisations and societies, which has driven our work in architecture for nearly 20 years.
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It’s a place where children get to live a life they are usually denied.Parents of a child with muscular dystrophy / Qualitative insight from anthropological field study Impact case (Musholm)
The Culture Yard has given the city a new identity.Local citizen / Qualitative insight from anthropological field study Impact case (The Culture Yard)
We were expecting good results, but we have been taken aback by just how positive they are.Head of Development at VUC Syd / Qualitative insight from anthropological field study Impact case (VUC Syd)
Dedicated documentation
We are the first architecture firm in Scandinavia to establish a dedicated documentation team, where we collect the latest knowledge about how architecture makes a difference in practice. We do so by revisiting our completed projects and studying their social and economic impact. Impactful studies that give us a robust foundation of knowledge to develop organisations and communities with architecture serving as a catalyst.
Anthropologist Johanne Mose Entwistle is the head of our documentation team.
How we document the social and economic impact of architecture.
Read more about our methodImpactful advice
Documenting the impact of architecture is deeply embedded in our AART DNA. So deeply, in fact, that we are the first architecture firm in Scandinavia to offer before-and-after impact assessments of the projects we help develop. These assessments allow us to gain insights into each project’s social and economic effects; these are impactful insights that we use to support decision-making in the concept development and planning stage of the given project – as well as future projects.
The Bikuben Student Residence is one of many projects where we have documented the impact of architecture.
Strategic partnerships
We work together with universities and research agencies. Our goal with these partnerships is to provide the latest knowledge and research.
The value of sharing knowledge
We take pride in sharing our knowledge on the social and economic potential of architecture, as we believe that the exchange of knowledge makes us stronger as a company, industry and society. We therefore frequently speak at conferences and regularly publish articles on the impact of architecture. Among many other networks, we are members of the world’s biggest for socially responsible companies, the UN Global Compact, which commits us to publish an annual report (Communication on Progress) on our impactful work with architecture.
CEO Torben Skovbjerg Larsen holding a lecture on our impactful work with architecture.
Significant milestones
For almost two decades, we have put impact before form. This has resulted in a distinguished reference list of projects and partnerships. Today, we are deeply involved with research environments and cooperate with several research agencies. We are also behind a wide range of impactful projects spread all across Scandinavia, including Musholm, where we have improved the quality of life for people with disabilities, and the Culture Yard, where we have set the course for Elsinore’s transformation from a shipyard city to a city of culture.
Timeline
2007
Home for Life
Makes the electricity meter run backwards
2008
Partnership
We join the UN Global Compact.
2013
Strategic partnership
We establish a partnership with the Alexandra Institute on the social impact of architecture.
2017
Strategic partnership
We establish a partnership with Copenhagen Economics on the economic impact of architecture.
2018
Professorship
CEO Torben Skovbjerg Larsen becomes an adjunct professor at Aalborg University with a focus on the impact of architecture.
2019
Organisation