Lendager

Designing circular cities with upcycled materials

In an industry that relies on extracting new resources, one company is building with what others have left behind.

Lendager are a Danish architecture firm guided by a simple but radical idea: "form follows availability". Instead of relying on new materials from across the globe, they upcycle what is readily and locally available. The practice, founded by Anders Lendager in 2011, was early to champion circular construction. Now it’s a leading voice in a rapidly shifting industry.

According to UNEP, the global economy extracts over 100 billion tonnes of raw materials every year. Lendager challenge this wasteful status quo and, through their consultancy, help others do the same.

At Lendager, waste isn't a liability but a resource in the wrong place. As Nicholas Ransome, Lendager's Managing Director, puts it, "we actually take waste and give it some magic."

The TRÆ tower in Aarhus embodies this philosophy. The world's first high-rise made of wood and waste, TRÆ is proof that circular construction can be safe, profitable, and even beautiful. The bulk of the build is made from wood and upcycled materials. In their “living laboratory”, the team experiment with biogenic materials like cork, seaweed, and mycelium.

Constructing with waste creates a new aesthetic for the built environment, asking designers – and the public – to embrace imperfections. "We accept scars and mistakes in the materials," Anders says, "and we use them."

Doing things differently at Lendager extends beyond material use. In Aarhus, the unhoused community participate in the upkeep of TRÆ, while a volunteer initiative provides daily meals for families in need. Through programmes like these, the firm is rethinking the role the built environment can play in society.

Lendager are laying the foundation for a new generation of architects. Buildings like TRÆ may be assembled from the past, but they're designed for the future.

With thanks to our contributors:

Anders Lendager, Founder & Creative Director of Lendager

Nicholas Duxbury Ransome, Managing Director of Lendager

Søren Tscherning, Managing Director of Tscherning