ABOUT PÅLSSON URBANISM

The mission of Pålsson Urbanism is about renewing the city with room for people, about historical overlay and respect for the building traditions of the past, and about new architecture on a human scale. Our work takes its departure in the tradition of the dense organic city. Focus is on physical and spatial relationships, development patterns, access principles and their connection to public streets and squares: the elements that make for a rich urban life.

The entire city must provide the framework for good, safe urban life. This creates the conditions under which people can meet in public spaces, and, ultimately, the basis for a vibrant and tolerant democratic society.

Pålsson Urbanism wants to facilitate the positive paradigm shift from freestanding buildings to cohesive urban districts on a humanscale. Cars, skyscrapers, gated communities and shopping malls dominate development in many large cities, which lack cohesive city spaces where people can meet and mingle. Rooted in European traditions, Pålsson Urbanism is working for a more humane direction for urban conversion, trying to help large cities worldwide as they strive to put their own development culture into a contemporary urban framework that functions on a human scale.

Pålsson Urbanism originates from Pålsson Architects, founded by Karsten Pålsson in 1985 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pålsson Architects work with renewing the city, renovating and modernizing existing buildings with focus on architectonic identity and cultural heritage.

Founding of Pålsson Urbanism was fueled by the success of the book Public Spaces and Urbanity – How to design Humane Cities by Karsten Pålsson.

Important points in our work are, that public space and built structure are two sides of the same coin, that enclosed space in a human scale is essential, and that preserving harmony between old and new buildings is the key to maintaining the identity of the city. These considerations and values are the basis for one of our main services: master planning for city transformation and new city areas. Pålsson Urbanism is a network organisation that ensures the best expertise for every project.

The latest book of Karsten Pålsson focuses on the very corner stone of European Cities – the urban block. The Title is “Urban Block Cities – 10 principles for Contemporary Planning”.

ABOUT KARSTEN PÅLSSON

Karsten Pålsson is founder, owner and CEO at Pålsson Urbanism. Karsten Pålsson has a Masters Degree in Architecture (MAA) from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (1974).

Karsten Pålsson has acted as consultant to the Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the field of urban renewal and to the Ministry of the Environment on conservation of listed historical buildings and masterplanning for urban areas.

In addition, since 1990 Karsten Pålsson has acted as project manager on a number of development projects within the field of renovation, transformation and prefabrication of buildings, supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

“The entire city must provide the
framework for good, safe urban
life. This creates the conditions
under which people can meet in
public spaces, and, ultimately, the
basis for a vibrant and tolerant
democratic society.“

Karsten Pålsson