Viewing nature as a driver of design

Our meeting with international landscape architecture firm SLA was a highlight of our trip to Copenhagen. Founded more than 30 years ago by Stig L. Andersson, SLA is a leader in sustainable urban development, integrating nature as a driver in the transformation of cities.

Each project is rooted in a simple conviction: spaces designed for life, in all its forms. This approach, which is both scientific and poetic, reinvents the relationships between the city and the natural world, in the spirit of urban ecology and respect for the land.

A laboratory of ideas and materials

Their office in Copenhagen evokes a true laboratory: shelves laden with books, soil samples, models where textures and topography intersect. Architects, biologists, urban planners and philosophers work side by side, united in the desire to create environments anchored in the reality of living beings. 

Discussion is warm and ongoing around a big table. This openness and deliberate interdisciplinarity immediately reminded us of our own way of understanding landscape. There was something humble and comforting in this meeting. Their way of approaching the landscape, both rigorous and intuitive, resonates deeply with our own.

This half-day spent with Nicoline Madsen and Nanna Maj Stubbe Østergaard, both partners at SLA, proved to be immensely enriching — a dialogue between two teams from different continents who share the same conviction that landscape design begins with listening.

Social Spine: A regenerated city

To better understand their approach, we visited Social Spine, a project on the roof of a student residence in Copenhagen. The concrete slab has been transformed into a long 160-metre green ribbon: community greenhouses, study spaces, outdoor kitchens, grass and relaxation areas unfold in an atmosphere that is both inviting and lush with greenery.

Completed with a modest budget, the project shows that it is possible to do a lot with a little when guided by thoughtful design. More than 350 trees and shrubs were planted, many from the old land, simply transplanted rather than discarded — a tangible way to give a second life to living material.

The site, now inhabited by students, has established itself as an exemplary social and ecological space — proof that the most lasting transformations are, above all, grounded in strong values.

Stig L. Andersson, SLA founder

“The purpose of design is to bring us ever closer to nature – so that we no longer speak of it and us, but of a we.” 

A natural affinity

This visit left a lasting impression. Beyond admiring the quality of their work, we recognized in SLA a kindred spirit, a team driven by the same desire to build connections between humans and nature.

Their practice, grounded in the Nordic setting, aligned with our own priorities: creating landscapes on a human scale that act as conduits of biodiversity and lasting relationships.

Back home in Québec, this encounter continued to enrich our thinking. It reminded us that nature in the city is not a constraint, but a resource; that Scandinavian practices can inform our local efforts; and that by placing living beings at the heart of a project, we design spaces that breathe, transform and inspire.

SLA reminded us that thinking of the city differently is above all listening to what it has to say — and letting nature find its voice again.


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