Material Times – From design and architecture, through traditional crafts, to new technologies.

For over fifty years, the Copenhagen-based studio Vandkunsten Architects has been proving that socially sensitive housing is not a utopia, but a functional reality. As pioneers of participatory models, modular timber structures, and the radical reuse of materials, they have received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal and several Mies van der Rohe Award nominations. Architect Elena Astrid Rojas explains why revitalizing modernist estates like Tingbjerg is better than demolition, how the public housing system keeps Danish cities diverse, and why socially conscious architects today must act as political negotiators to push the boundaries of a slow-moving industry.