Cyklus architecture and design

Hjem
Danmark
Copenhagen
Cyklus architecture and design

We work with architecture, public space and design at the intersection of people, place and nature. Our goal: to strengthen both communities and ecosystems.

We call our work “co-labs”, where co-creation, inclusion and local knowledge shape the outcome.

21/11/2025

En dejlig og en kold solskinsdag i felten…Endnu en gang blev det tydeligt, hvor meget energi og nye perspektiver unge bringer, når de får lov at være med til at forme vores byer! Mange tak til alle som var med 🌱

22/10/2024

Renovating, Remodelling, Restoration - three "Rs"?

There is so much existing building stock. The enormous value and effort that went into creating these places should be cared for, changed, or otherwise adapted to new needs and conditions. This contrasts with a culture of demolition and new construction.

This project is not a Restoration: it is more of a Remodel. A home in Fredensborg, where changing needs have inspired a new architecture, created in dialog with the existing. Such a pleasure to play with brick walls. Now under the last phases of construction-- more posts to follow.

24/09/2021

Flashback Friday - Passive Solar Design for Young Mothers

This is a sketch for a design way back around 2001- and even though I did have a computer, charcoal was the preferred medium ;) This was to be very special house for teenage mothers who attended an inspiring school in Detroit, USA called the Catherine Ferguson Academy (now closed). The house was saved from demolition and was the site of a lot of volunteer activity, but was unfortunately never completed.

The design is based on Passive Solar principles, pioneered from the 1950s-1970s- where an integrated greenhouse provides solar space heating for the living spaces. As we innovate and make a transition to a regenerative society- lets adapt these valuable approaches in combination with current ideas.

In this case the existing wood frame home would be stripped down to the bones in many areas and then the entire house wrapped in polycarbonate- providing heat, light and insulation and extending the life of the roofing and siding. The greenhouse section would also function as a usable living space - and sometimes “winter garden” and provide a luscious air cleansing environment. The greenhouse area could even treat the water and sewer “waste.” Just like they do with the astonishing system. The plants grown also would have tied in to the amazing urban farming movement in Detroit, and can be used to grow food to be eaten on site or sold/given to neighbors.

I miss you Detroit /Greg

22/09/2021

We are happy to announce that we have been nominated for SDG Tech Award for 2021 - thank you to whoever nominated us.

21/09/2021

Small Bathroom - Big Improvement!

This has been such a satisfying project in Nørrebro, Copenhagen - can’t wait to see it finished in December. Thanks to supporting funds from the City of Copenhagen “Toiletpuljen” - the city is supporting renovations of the extra small bathrooms around the city to include a shower. They also have some great requirements for water efficiency and proper labor standards.

The original bathroom was shoe-horned into a classic Copenhagen apartment built in the late 1800s. That shoe-horn move was in 1938, installing a toilet where there was none before (outhouse in the courtyard, if you are wondering). Many of these types of apartments have not been improved since then. Now we are just adding a few centimeters in each direction gives enough space for such luxuries as a hand sink and shower! The whole room is the shower. The new bathroom will be about 820mm x 1100mm, where the old one was 830mm x 650mm - just big enough for the toilet and not much people space. It has been interesting exploring what a comfortable size minimal bathroom could be. Before I had used about 900mm as a rule of thumb width. I actually think down to 800mm is good minimum. (but not 700 or less). Any thoughts / experiences with various minimums?

15/09/2021

Communities and Commons

We are delighted to be featured in the traveling exhibit / online platform called “Communities and Commons.” The exhibition is traveling under the Danish Cultural Institute, and will be traveling to Japan, China, Brazil, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Turkey, Lebanon, Island and Russia.

There are really some amazing projects featured from around the world. The online exhibit is an “open source exhibition” - intending to spread and share good ideas and inspire similar projects! See commonities.org (notice the spelling)

Our featured project from the “Into the Wild” competition, proposes a transition zone between the urban and natural for Amager here in Copenhagen. The idea is to create a recreative/social/nature zone that connects the two disparate urban forms. There would be skating, basketball, and an urban garden for both local residents and school kids. The mowed lawns would be replaced with a landscape more like Amager Fælled and other local biotopes, which the wild, native species increase biodiversity, invite pollinators, increase air quality, and better absorbs rainwater.

Thanks to Danish Cultural Institute and the Danish Arts Foundation for putting all of this together.

10/09/2021

Puchasing Upcycled Materials.

Again for Englandspark, we were both in a hurry and in need of “upcycled” materials. So our other approach using recycled floorboards would not work in this case. Luckily, businesses have emerged to assist! Upcycling Forum (www.upcyclingforum.dk) works as a missing link or broker between manufacturers with surplus materials, and customers who want to purchase sustainably - Fantastic! We are grateful that you fill this need.

In this case we worked with Fir (23x95mm if you really want to know), that is finger-jointed. This material suited the project perfectly, and in addition to being a production surplus material, it is also FSC certified.

08/09/2021

FRAK youth

The temporary furniture we designed is now moved from Englandsparken to be stored and used other locations and it has been a fun ride! The youth from FRAK (frak.dk) have been so much fun to work with, mostly because they know how to HAVE fun while working.

Unfortunately, the other project CYKLUS and FRAK collaborate on, a product called B-Boks, fell short of its crowdfunding goal (see older posts). We are still bringing it to market - just in other ways. Not sure how yet - but we are finding out. Stay tuned for that.

Thanks to Områdefornyelsen Sundby (https://www.facebook.com/omraadefornyelsesundby) for bringing such a project into the world!

24/07/2021

Forandringsdesign

Forandringer i dit miljø er den nemmeste måde at ændre dit liv på - indflydelse på dit miljø er en del af bevidstheden om, hvordan du lever dit liv. B-Boks er designet til at fungere som en rede, hvor du kan ændre og udruge forandring og nye former i dit eget miljø. Boksene fungerer som mursten - de bygges op forskudt - men til forskel fra mursten er de flytbare med to forankringspunkter, så de kan dreje, samtidig med at de skaber stabilitet.

Vores liv bringer os også forandringer. Det kan skabe udfordringer, når du omdekorerer eller flytter til ny bolig, hvis du vil have dine møbler med i flytningen. B-Boks er som skabt til at flytte sig sammen med dig og dine ændrede behov - boksene imødekommer ligefrem skiftende miljøer, områder og livssituationer.

Tjek vores COOP-crowdfunding ud - den kører stadig! Se

https://crowdfunding.coop.dk/project/1300/description
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Designing for Change

Changing your environment is one of the easiest ways to change your life - having influence on your environment is part of being conscious about how you are living. The b-boks is designed to function like a nest- where change and forming your environment are built-in. The boxes work like bricks in the way they have an offset stack. But unlike bricks, they are movable with two hinge-points, so they can turn while still providing stability.

Our lives also bring change upon us. Moving to different spaces and environments can be a challenge if you want to keep your furniture. In this way, the B-Boks also accommodates different environments, spaces and life situations.

Our B-Boks crowdfunding campaign is still going! - see
https://crowdfunding.coop.dk/project/1300/description

23/07/2021

Bloom House

Sammen med Me-We Garden (se forrige post) er Bloom House en del af vores indlæg til Chicago Architecture Biannual-udstillingen. Huset er et neutralt område, designet til at være multi-funktionelt. Samfundet har skiftende behov og projekter, så den lille bygning skal kunne rumme forskellige scenarier: Teater, cykelsmed, café, fællesmøder og andre opståede idéer. Væggene kan åbnes på den ene side, og taget er med vippebeslag. Konstruktionen åbner for, at bygningen kan skifte form og huse forskellige aktiviteter - på den måde vokser den ind i omgivelserne som en arkitektonisk blomst.

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Bloom House

Together with the me-we garden - see previous post - the “Bloom House” is part of our entry to the to the Chicago Architecture Biannual. The house is a neutral space, designed to be multi-functional. The community has changing needs and changing initiatives, and so the small building is meant to accommodate several scenarios: theater space, bike repair, cafe, community meeting space, and more. The walls open up on one side, and the roof also is hinged - allowing the building to change form and accommodate different functions - and also “bloom” in the neighborhood like an architectural flower.

12/07/2021

Me-We garden

Skabt i samarbejde med kunstneren Thomas Wolsing og en del af et indlæg på Chicago Architectural Biannual-udstillingen. Stedet for projektet er North Lawndale, et afrikansk-amerikansk samfund med stærke indbyrdes bånd, men knap så stærkt økonomisk grundlag.

Designet er bygget af modulære trækasser, som kan fungere som både siddepladser, plantekasser, mini-drivhuse og vægge. Hovedformålet har været, at beboerne sammen har deltaget i at skabe det endelige resultat. Hver kasse vil have en beboers navn på sig, og derved stå som en metafor for individer, der i fællesskab bygger et samfund op.

Vi har foreslået saffran som den første plante i kasserne på grund af dens skønhed og potentiale i både økonomisk og samfundsmæssigt perspektiv. Vi har også indsendt et forslag til en bygning - bliv på linjen for at høre mere om den.
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Me-We garden

This is part of an entry (together with artist Thomas Wolsing) to the Chicago Architectural Biannual. The site for the project is North Lawndale - an African-American community with strong community ties but not so strong economic resources. The design is built from modular wooden boxes. They were inspired by crates but are made heartier and in different dimensions. They function as seating, planting beds, mini-greenhouses or walls. The main motivation is for residents participate in creating the final formation together. Each box would have a residents name on it - making the installation a metaphor for individual and community :) We also proposed Saffron as a first “crop” because of its beauty, and its community building and economic potential. We also proposed a building - stay tuned for that.

08/07/2021

Upcycling af træ

Træ er fantastisk! Det er let, men stærkt. Solidt, men nemt at forme. I en verden af bæredygtigt design og arkitektur er kærligheden til træ et solidt udgangspunkt. Tilføjet til listen er de mange måder, man kan genanvende det på.

Upcycling og genanvendelse - af træ er i stigende grad en vigtig mulighed. Efterspørgslen på træ er nærmest eksploderet, og det er vanskeligt at imødekomme den, når træ skal plantes, høstes, handles, sendes og behandles ansvarligt.

Vi har udarbejdet en strategi for vores arbejde med genanvendte gulvbrædder - gavmildt doneret af Københavns Kommune. De her brædder er fantastiske og har haft et begivenhedsrigt liv! De er fulde af maling, cement, lim, gamle søm og skruer og er desuden grundigt slidt af tusindvis af fødder!

Hvis du er interesseret i at se vores endelige strategi-rapport om upcycling, vil den være klar i løbe af en uges tid. Send os gerne en besked, og vi sender en rapport retur. Det koster ikke noget.

Strategien involverer at skære den slidte overflade af brædderne, fjerne sømmene og bagefter rette brædderne til. Vi går efter at genskabe en ren overflade - tjek endelig udseendet på B-Boks’ene i tidligere posts. De er resultatet af strategien!

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Working with reclaimed wood

Wood is amazing! - its light yet strong, solid yet easily formed, and so on. In the world of sustainable design and architecture - its really a love affair. Adding recyclability to its long list of qualities comes as no surprise. Upcycling or reclaiming wood is an increasingly important option - as demand for wood is skyrocketing, and keeping up with demand is a challenge- especially when the trees should be planted, harvested, traded, shipped, and treated responsibly. We have been working out a strategy for how to work with reclaimed floor boards that were generously donated from the City of Copenhagen. If you are interested in our final report - which will be finished in about a week or so, please send a message, and you will get one for free. These boards have had a full life! They are full of paint, cement, glue, old nails and screws, not to mention being worn down by years of foot traffic! Our strategy includes cutting the old surface off, removing the nails, and then machining. We are after a clean surface- as you can see from B-Boks in other posts :)

Adresse

Else Alfelts Vej 52e, 4th
Copenhagen
2300

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09:00 - 14:00

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+4531236027

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http://cyklus.org/

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