From September 18th to October 19th, 2025, Copenhagen will host the inaugural edition of its Architecture Biennial, curated by the Copenhagen Architecture Forum (CAFx). Titled Slow Down, the biennial proposes a radical rethinking of the built environment in response to the pressures of today’s hyper-accelerated world. At its core lies a powerful question: what would it mean—for cities, systems, and societies—to truly decelerate?
In place of fast, wasteful design, the Biennial champions slowness as a form of resistance and regeneration. Two open-call winners, Barn Again by Tom Svilans x THISS Studio and Inside Out, Downside Up by Slaatto Morsbøl, bring this concept to life with pavilions built entirely from reclaimed materials. Installed in Copenhagen’s Cultural District, both structures serve as spaces for reflection, conversation, and sensory recalibration.
Barn Again reimagines the Norwegian barn using salvaged timber and digital craftsmanship, creating a cocoon of quiet in the urban flow. Meanwhile, Inside Out, Downside Up uses discarded pipes, thatching, and brick to create a tactile, atmospheric experience that encourages pause and presence. Together, the Slow Pavilions explore how architecture can extend material life cycles and challenge the detachment of modern construction.
More than just an exhibition, the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial includes talks, gatherings, and Assemble!, a two-day professional forum on the future of the building sector. With support from Revalu, Dreyers Foundation, and Buro Happold, this biennial doesn’t just ask how to build differently—but why, and for whom.
Inside Out, Downside Up Pavilion
Image courtesy of COPENHAGEN ARCHITECTURE FORUM COPENHAGEN ARCHITECTURE FORUM (CAFX)