Cecilie Marie Busk, Head of Democratic Design, C.F. Møller Architects - Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability - C.F. Møller. Photo: C.F. Møller Andersen / Silas Smed Andersen
Aalborg Waterfront / C.F. Møller Architects - Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability - C.F. Møller. Photo: C.F. Møller Architects / Per Olav Hagen
7.4.2022

Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability

C.F. Møller Architects establishes Democratic Design as a new department focusing on social sustainability and the relationship between people and the built environment.

 

There is a growing awareness of the quality and sustainability of the relationships we create between people and the environment. Organised objectives such as the UN SDGs and sustainability certifications require us to consider and actively work with this, but there is also an increased focus on community, sustainability, inclusion, and co-creation in the public debate about the design of our cities and buildings - values that can be difficult to measure, weigh and document, and therefore difficult to sustain. C.F. Møller Architects is establishing Democratic Design as a new expert department within this field.

Lone Bendorff, C.F. Møller Architects - Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability - C.F. Møller. Photo: C.F. Møller Architects / Mew

"The establishment of Democratic Design underlines our focus on sustainability, which has been particularly evident in recent years in timber construction. And although we have been focusing on people since the beginning in 1924, Democratic Design contributes to sharpening this focus through systematized processes and meeting the demands and wishes of our clients with the same 360-degree approach to sustainability that we have ourselves, says Lone Bendorff, CEO at C.F. Møller Architects.

Cecilie Marie Busk, Head of Democratic Design, C.F. Møller Architects - Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability - C.F. Møller. Photo: C.F. Møller Architects / Silas Smed Andersen

Interdisciplinary department
The department will strengthen C.F. Møller's focus on the relationship between people and the built environment and contribute to projects being further developed with a focus on social sustainability and a democratic approach to co-creation, responsibility, and inclusion. The department has a multidisciplinary approach, combining competences in architecture, urban planning, and anthropology.


"As an architectural firm, we have a responsibility to help change and improve the basic environment for our lives, and with Democratic Design we see an opportunity to develop our own tools and methods that can set new standards for the way we work with architecture and urban development, and for the way we talk about value," says Cecilie Marie Busk, head of the new department.

Democratic Design, C.F. Møller Architects - Establishing new department with focus on social sustainability - C.F. Møller. Photo: C.F. Møller Architects / Mew

Creating added value
Services range from principles and concepts for implementing social sustainability, analysing existing behaviors and relationships, collecting data and assessing impact, to facilitating citizen engagement and co-creation processes. Common to the range of services is a fundamental departure from the ambition to add greater meaning and value to our cities and buildings.


"A typical client might be a private developer who needs to develop a major construction project or the development of a master plan for a new urban area. In both cases, the developer is faced with increasing demands and expectations from the public, the authorities, and the city council to focus on local communities, sustainability, inclusion, and co-creation. We can help the client ensure awareness and dedication to these issues and document the impact and added value to the project of these efforts, says Cecilie Marie Busk.

 

Cecilie Marie Busk graduated as an architect in Aarhus in 2006 and joined C.F. Møller after her graduation. Since 2017, Cecilie has been a team leader and urban planner at C.F. Møller's Landscape & Urbanism department. Cecilie is a trained DGNB consultant for urban areas. Democratic Design is also starting up with architect Anders Precht Jensen, who also comes from C.F. Møller’s Landscape & Urbanism department, and on 1 May a newly hired anthropologist will join the team.For the Democratic Design department at C.F. Møller Architects there is still one vacancy for an architect to be filled.

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