Each project is an opportunity to realize an architectural potential for the client and users.

People are the central focus in all our projects. Therefore, we always work to create experiential architecture where social interaction makes a difference for the people who frequent our buildings daily.

Architects with attitude, empathy, and thoroughness can actively make a difference in people’s lives. Therefore, we always focus on creating experiences that support community and learning.

Sustainability is a pervasive ambition in our design thinking and approach to architecture. Therefore, we strive to create sustainable architecture that can grow and transform according to users’ needs. This means developing innovative solutions with a focus on responsible resource use, cultural connections in and around the built environment, and functional solutions based on users’ experiential worlds.

Co-creation and dialogue

All our projects are developed through dialogue. Dialogue with users who will have their daily lives in our buildings. Ongoing dialogue with our clients as we develop projects. Dialogue with our collaborators to work on integrated design. In short, dialogue provides valuable input to our design process.

In our process, user involvement is an important tool to qualify our design solutions. At the same time, it is a tool to establish ownership and identity closely connected to the physical spaces. The user process is central to making architecture social spaces that are identity-bearing for local communities.

When we develop our design in dialogue with collaborators, we ensure architectural quality, and technical solutions become fully integrated solutions in the buildings.

Three premises for our architecture

We work experience-based with architecture. We have identified three fundamental premises for our work, which we always consider in the development of our design:

CULTURE: It is the human context, demographic conditions, local roots, and building culture in which we work. We focus on the values of the users and the identity-building communities that our buildings should frame.

RESOURCE: It is the materials, processes, and economy involved in our projects. Our buildings are material depots. We see it as borrowing materials for a while. We focus on how to minimize our environmental resource impact in projects. We do this by preserving the value of materials at the highest possible level for as long as possible and by incorporating building operations already in the early project phases to hold onto our ambitions.

FUNCTION: It is about the specific requirements and needs in the building. It is the disposition, flow, and how the building is experienced and used by users. We work with users’ knowledge of their own needs, and after the buildings are delivered, we evaluate whether they meet the function and vision we had.

Sustainability ambitions at CCO Architects

We always work to formulate and fulfill sustainability ambitions in our projects. We systematically prioritize and optimize solutions where aesthetics and sustainability measures are closely linked.

In 2022, we developed a climate policy for the studio’s projects and our company’s operations. In the climate policy, we describe how we work to reduce CO2 as part of our vision to create a new climate-friendly building culture. See the climate policy here.

Sustainability ambitions are an integral part of our design process and are closely tied to our three premises: Culture, resource, and function. This means it is integrated into aesthetics and architectural concepts. Overall, we work with an approach where we optimize social initiatives with a focus on inclusion and simultaneously minimize the environmental impact of our projects.

In addition to working with certification schemes such as DGNB and sustainability requirements in accordance with industry standards, we work with a screening method focused on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We screen solutions in relation to the 169 sub-goals associated with the overarching 17 goals and identify specific initiatives in relation to these.

We work with design strategies focused on:

• Transformation of existing buildings
• Resource mapping
• Reuse, and minimum demolition
• Circular economy and minimized resource consumption
• Flexibility in new construction, allowing for future adaptation and changes
• Resilience of building structures and load-bearing parts
• Design for separation, where visible joints and clean material fractions enable reuse
• Modular construction with a focus on minimal waste from the construction phase
• Minimization of layers in buildings to reduce CO2e emissions
• Reduction of joints, adhesives, and paint to create a good indoor climate with minimal off-gassing
• Universal Design as a strategy to ensure inclusion
• Analysis of culture and context to ensure the building meets users’ real needs
• Co-creation and dialogue-based design
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC)

In our processes, we work with resource mappings and life cycle assessments (LCA). We do this to qualify our solutions. We share our calculations and analyses with everyone interested. We do this to increase society’s collective knowledge and basis for working even more targeted with CO2e reduction.

We work purposefully with sustainability ambitions in our company’s operations. To maintain our sustainability ambitions in practice, we are a member of the UN Global Compact, and every year we document our work in our CSR report. Read our latest CSR report here.”