From Experiments to Ecosystems – and the Architecture of Continuity
- tsa8463
- Jan 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 16
A conversation with Nicholas Ransome, Managing Director at Lendager
In Denmark, a country celebrated for design excellence yet challenged by one of Europe’s highest demolition rates, a new architectural culture is forming. It is quieter than the radical aesthetics of previous design movements but far more consequential. It is not defined by a single material, technology, or certification. Instead, it is defined by a shift in worldview. Circularity is no longer an experiment; it is becoming an ecosystem.
And the most progressive architecture today does not begin with a blank site. It begins with continuity - what is already built, already standing, already carrying cultural and structural value.
This is the context in which Lendager operates. For more than a decade, the studio has pushed circular construction further than almost anyone - not as a niche speciality but as a cultural, technical, and infrastructural transformation.
When I spoke with Nicholas, Managing Director at Lendager, it became clear that we are standing at an inflection point. Circularity is moving beyond materials and pilot projects. It is becoming a new operating system.
A New Lens for Architecture: Choosing Continuity
Circular architecture, in its earliest form, was often framed as innovation through substitution - swapping one material for another. But what Lendager is doing today is something far more fundamental:
it reframes the starting point of architecture.
Discussing with Nicholas, he pointed to a great example - Høje Taastrup Rådhus developed by Ikano Bolig, a former municipal building that had already been approved for demolition before they commissioned plans for new housing on the site.
The existing building now spans approximately 17,000 m², with a robust structural frame and rational
floor depths that made it far more adaptable than initially assumed. The client had already anticipated thousands of tonnes of waste removal and a clean slate for new construction.
Instead, Lendager conducted an early assessment.
The structure was sound. The spatial logic was adaptable. The building offered more potential than destruction could.
The proposal was simple but radical: “Transform it - don’t tear it down.”
This single decision reversed an entire value chain: no demolition, no excavation, no structural rebuild, no new façade system. A building destined for the landfill became a foundation for hundreds of new homes.
This is not an anomaly. Nicholas notes a distinct cultural shift underway:
“It doesn’t look good to tear things down anymore. Rehabilitation is suddenly on the agenda - politically, socially, architecturally.”
From Experiments to Ecosystems
Lendager is widely associated with its inventive use of discarded materials - from brick and timber to glass, concrete, and large-scale composite elements sourced from decommissioned infrastructure. Yet the more meaningful story lies behind the material innovations; circularity at scale requires entirely new value chains.
Nicholas reflects on an early project where discarded wind turbine blades were transformed into solar-shading elements. To make it possible, the team brought together supply chain partners who had never collaborated before - composite specialists, recyclers, demolition teams, façade engineers, and regulatory bodies.
Lendager initially tried to drive circularity internally but quickly learned that meaningful progress depends on bringing the right expertise together.
This is where the work becomes ecosystemic.
The work quickly shifted from design concept & material experimentation to managing interfaces between engineering requirements, regulatory conditions, supply-chain realities, and on-site execution.
The Living Lab Model: Buildings as Research Infrastructure
If Lendager’s portfolio shows what is possible, the Living Lab initiative shows how circular solutions scale. Created within a 20-storey timber hybrid building - the tallest of its kind in Denmark - the three Living Lab floors function as open research environments, each testing a different material pathway: biogenic, recycled and upcycled assemblies.
To understand their significance, it helps to look at the broader context of the TRÆ project itself. Its ambition pushed Danish construction into uncharted territory. Before TRÆ, no timber-hybrid building of this height had been attempted in Denmark, and many systems that would normally default to steel or aluminium had to be redesigned from scratch. Even the façade build-up behind the recycled metal cladding required extensive coordination with fire authorities because timber is rarely used in high-rise assemblies. As Nicholas put it, “We did things that had no precedent. Everything had to be proven at 1:1 scale.”
These challenges directly informed the creation of the Living Labs. Instead of treating innovation as an add-on risk, the team built mechanisms for testing into the building itself.
Within the Labs, materials were tracked from sourcing to installation to establish traceability; contractors tested how recycled and upcycled components behaved on-site, revealing sequencing and tolerance conflicts that only emerge at full scale; and authorities were involved throughout, allowing fire and building protocols to be adjusted in real time. Cost modelling and post-occupancy monitoring added financial and performance data rarely available for emerging materials.
The result is a shared proving ground that many companies could never have accessed alone. Several suppliers used the Labs to secure long-delayed certifications or refine products to meet structural or fire requirements. Combined, these experiments created years’ worth of transferable knowledge - distributed across dozens of companies and lowering the barrier for every subsequent project.
“The first movers pay the cost. The second movers make the impact,” Nicholas noted.
In this way, TRÆ becomes more than a project. It becomes a launchpad - a place where promising innovations mature into market-ready solutions, supported rather than sidelined by the complexity of the sector. It accelerates the transition of the entire construction ecosystem.
Barriers That Shape the Market & What Will Define the Next Decade
Despite the momentum, Nicholas is clear that circular adoption is still slowed by structural and cultural barriers: contractor risk premiums, documentation gaps, cautious insurers, outdated performance standards, restrictive legislation and clients who default to familiar practice. Yet the landscape is shifting.
The next decade will be defined by forces reshaping the entire construction ecosystem: more transparent material data, clearer and more enabling legislative frameworks, and early-stage decision-making driven by carbon budgets rather than aesthetics. These pressures introduce constraints that are no longer optional, from quantifiable CO₂ thresholds to real-time knowledge of material availability.
For Nicholas, the coming phase will not be defined by a single breakthrough solution but by the industry's ability to adapt to tighter limits, clearer data, and a fully non-negotiable mandate for circularity.
Looking Ahead: Denmark’s Circular Transition
Seen across projects, policy shifts, and industry behavior, a deeper transition is underway: Denmark is beginning to replace isolated circular experiments with the foundations of a systemic, long-term circular practice.
This next chapter will be defined by:
Rehabilitation as the default pathway
Demolition as a last resort
Regionally grounded material supply chains
Certified, standardized low-carbon components
Open knowledge and shared testing infrastructure
Early-stage collaboration among all disciplines
Circular construction is no longer about isolated ingenuity. It is about alignment - technical, institutional, and cultural.
Lendager’s work illustrates what this next phase looks like. It is not a search for novelty, but a deliberate widening of the systems that makes architectural continuity possible.
Knowledge becomes common ground rather than an isolated achievement.
This is where Denmark can lead - by transforming proven approaches into standard practice and shaping a construction culture built on continuity and a long-term commitment to building differently.
Would you like more insights into circular construction? Read our latest articles or subscribe here for updates.
Written by Talia Sanchez
Comments