Architectural guidelines

Over the past 50 years, we have grown in experience, but we have also grown in size. We now number 700 employees across five studios in Scandinavia. Common to us all is our dedication and passion for architecture.

Arkitema is not the only one changing, the world we design for is changing as well. We are on a continuous journey to create future-proof architecture that improves people's everyday life. To continue that journey together, we need one common direction – a set of our own architectural guidelines.

Our architectural guidelines are structured around three main themes:

Aesthetics, functionality and sustainability

As you delve deeper into what these themes mean for each of our business units, you will notice that they overlap and have a lot in common. This is the way it should be; no parameter exists on its own and everything is linked together.

Why

Arkitema's architectural guidelines aim to:

Provide a common direction for our future architecture

We want to set the architectural bar high! We strive to design sustainable and future-proof cities that are rooted in Scandinavian principles. Our architecture should be built on a common understanding of aesthetics, functionality and sustainability. The world is facing sustainability challenges. Architects are one of the main contributors and business as usual is no longer an option. The way forward is innovation and co-creation which is what Arkitema aims to stand for. Sustainable focus must be an integral part of the entire design process and be seen in all of our projects.

We are strongest when we have a common goal and when our brand reflects that.

How

Our path forward is us

The capability of each employee is our most valuable goods that we offer our customers. We have the ingredients for the change we want to create; dedicated and highly professional minds. In a way, parts of this guide were already there – like pieces of a puzzle waiting to be picked up and placed to see the motive – our identity – clearer.

These guidelines were drafted involving many of Arkitema's employees; however, it is a living set of accords that will evolve as the world changes.

The future

In the network of plausible future scenarios, there is something that is relatively constant – the drivers that define future.

In order to design future-proof architecture, we need to look into the future, which is a nearly impossible task. A way to start is to look into the drivers that define it.

Press the plus icon to read more about each driver.

Social structures are changing

Diversity in family compositions is increasing. This calls for diversity in living arrangements, shared living, and single options. We want to highlight the need for flexibility and homes that embrace diversity.

Next generation matters

The younger generations have a strong voice in the international conversation. Whether the topic is equality, climate change or digital security, they are opinionated and knowledgeable. They do not accept and close their eyes to rigid societal and economical structures. When they become our customers, they will probably not ask us for status quo.

Growth in population and age

The world's population is growing. Even in countries seeing less growth, growing cities result in increasing prices on dwellings. Whenever we can, we advise and push towards a fair distribution of land, culture and energy in cities.
Simultaneously, populations are getting older as a result of good health. An ageing population challenges our care systems with a smaller workforce paying and fewer caregivers.

Earth is under our pressure

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that humans are inducing more extreme events, where we cross thresholds that make events irreversible and push certain human systems beyond their ability to adapt. There is no doubt that we must find ways to invert our culture of high impact consumption to a low-impact consumption and in many cases just consume less.

Health issues take a turn

The overall tendency is that people get healthier all over the world with improving health care and rising life expectancy. The density in which we live in cities makes us vulnerable to epidemics. In many places we see health issues caused by air pollution, and we experience more health issues related to lifestyle like cardiovascular diseases or with degenerative conditions like dementia. At the same time we are experiencing an increased number of people with mental health issues. Health is a factor in all buildings and city spaces.

Digitalisation is here to stay

Digital innovation and solutions are changing people's work-life balance, and we are now looking at offices and workstations at home differently. In addition, digitalisation creates by-products like physical distance and sometimes (in combination with changing social structures) even loneliness. We expect the digital and physical universe to increasingly merge with each other.

No turning back from globalisation

We follow and relate to problems globally and in real time. Globalisation is here to stay, but it might play out a little differently than expected. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen a global withdrawal and a change of perspective on how we stay in touch. For many years, it has been a status symbol to travel the world (by airplane) in the name of globalisation. This sort of high-impact consumption is already frowned upon.

The equation of inequality

In many places in the world, people still live below the social threshold, and very few are extremely wealthy. There is a public push for equal worth and opportunities, equal access to health and equal rights to safety and education. Closing the gender gap alone would raise life quality and support the economy globally and locally enormously. Equality is a topic we, as architects, must take into consideration.

Energy is a battlefield

Scandinavia and the rest of Europe are collectively trying to move from fossil fuels to renewables, to reduce CO₂ emissions, and to become more self-sufficient in green energy. We want to contribute to a fair energy transition by focusing on how we can create the necessary energy landscapes and distribution that also bring quality for the local community.

Changing view on economy

The economic scene is conservative, but we anticipate the economic drivers to take a more circular approach. This tendency intensifies further as political forces set regulations to stay within environmental boundaries. UN estimates that achieving the global sustainability development goals opens up market opportunities worth USD 12 trillion in the four economic systems: agriculture, cities, energy/materials, and health.

Next step

We have gathered our architectural guidelines online instead of print in order for the content to be editable. We see our guidelines as a common direction that can and should continuously be polished and developed further. More content will be added over time and we hope that you will revisit our architectural guidelines regularly and include them in your design process.

If you would like to contribute to further development of the content, please contact your local studio partner:

Mette Baarup, Aarhus
Dorthe Keis, Copenhagen
Per Axelsson, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö
Astrid Charlotte Seeberg, Oslo