Dorte Mandrup & Peter Edwards: Daylight vs Urban Density

Studies in sculpture, ceramics and medicine have influenced Dorte Mandrup’s approach to architecture, which has always been ‘hands-on’. Shape and form constitute the company ethos – to create spaces that are aesthetically pleasing, contextually relevant, and invite people to engage.

Dorte Mandrup graduated from the Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark in 1991. Eight years later she founded her Copenhagen-based studio where she continues to be Creative Director. Her design philosophy and artistic yet systematic mindset permeate the entire office as she is design responsible for all projects.

As a humanist with a distinct nonconformist outlook, Dorte Mandrup is well known for her commitment to the development of the architectural practice and her frequent participation in public debates. Receiving national and international acclaim for her work, in 2018 Dorte headlined at the curated international exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia.

Dorte is Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Honorary Member of the Académie d'Architecture, member of the Architecture Section of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, and Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Since 2011 Dorte has been Adjunct Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and holds frequent visiting professorships abroad, including Cornell University, University of Washington, Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Switzerland, and most recently as Kenzo Tange Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard University.

Peter Edwards was a director of the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability. An ecologist by training, he obtained his Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University for a study on nutrient cycling in tropical rain forest.

In 1993 he was appointed professor of plant ecology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, where he also served as dean of the Department of Environmental Systems Science.

Peter a strong interest in the application of science and technology for better policy and management. He was a member of the executive board of the Alliance for Global Sustainability, a research partnership between several leading universities.

He continues his own research into the environmental benefits of urban greenery.