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Made by SUDes + Alumni Careers and future perspectives | Autumn 2026

Alumni careers & future perspectives

Sustainable Urban Design Master’s Program

School of Architecture Lund University Autumn 2026

The future is the places we create

Foreword

The idea for this booklet started many years ago with Peter Siöström, who first encouraged me to take it on. It was then put on hold for just as many years, but as we approached the 20th anniversary of the SUDes Master’s programme at the School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering (LTH), at Lund University, the time felt right to return to it. The anniversary offers an opportunity not only to reflect on what has been achieved over the past two decades, but also to look ahead – to the questions, challenges and possibilities that will shape sustainable urban design in the years to come.

Woven among our alumni stories, there are also short introductions to themes that we consider core to the SUDes programme and that reflect what we wish to share with our students. As I started the first draft of this project five years ago, one of these themes—Accessibility—was written by Louise Lövenstierne (1973– 2023), and I am delighted to be able to include her contribution in this publication. Louise was a very valued colleague, teacher, and member of the SUDes family, whose contribution to the programme continues to shape it today.

I want to thank all of the alumni who took the time, despite their busy schedMade by SUDes+ Alumni careers ules, to work on their contributions (in and future perspectives started with an ideal world, I wish every single graduthe premise of telling the stories of alum- ate could have taken part). I would also ni from different generations, focusing like to thank our guests, who have been, on their professional journeys so far and continue to be, such an important and gathering their perspectives on how part of the SUDes team, for sharing their SUDes has influenced their careers. reflections with us. Our hope is that it will strengthen the SUDes community, create connections between different generations of I hope you enjoy it! graduates, and provide inspiration for current and future students. Teresa Arana Aristi

Contents

08................... 00. Introducing SUDes 16................... 01. Resilience by Design 20.................... Fiona de Heer 26.................... Hugo Settergren 32................... 02. Urban Landscape 36.................... Katerina Pavlu Vondra 42.................... Andy Ryle 48................... 03. Urban Coexistence 52.................... Jonna Ekholm 58.................... Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian 64................... 04. Accessibility 68.................... Ashwin Karjatkar 74.................... Johannes Stenvall Stille 80................... 05. Shaping the Urban Ground 84.................... Rozálie Kašparová 90.................... Rebekka Guðmundsdóttir 96................... 06. Making Places 100................... Delia Moldoveanu 106................... Marcin Wojciech Zebrowski 112.................. 07. Reflections from SUDes collaborators 126.................. Moving Forward

00.

Introducing SUDes

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

How did it start?

The international Master’s programme in Sustainable Urban Design (SUDes) was founded in 2006 with the support of the Ax:son Johnson Foundation and with a clear mission: to educate a new generation of urban designers capable of addressing the complex challenges of sustainable city-making. Peter Elmlund, who at the time directed UCR, Urban City Research, recognized the need for urban designers equipped with the knowledge, imagination, and integrative design skills to create more sustainable cities. The Foundation played a crucial role in establishing and supporting the programme during its first 15 years, enabling it to grow into the strong and distinctive platform it is today. The intellectual framework of SUDes has been built piece by piece by an exceptional group of individuals working in a collaborative spir-

it. During the first two years, Ellen Dunham Jones and Catharina Sternudd formulated the initial curriculum and pedagogy, including its subjects, educational objectives, structure, course content, and studio sequence. This work was undertaken in close consultation with founding Director and team leader Peter Siöström and core faculty Andreas Olsson, Louise Lövenstierne (1973–2023), Per Björkeroth, and Henrik Johannesson. Seeking additional outside expertise, Donlyn Lyndon (1936–2026), Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at UC Berkeley, was invited to join the programme’s development. He helped frame the intellectual agenda, participated in studio and thesis reviews, and summarized the key precepts and questions emerging from the programme’s yearly international conferences. Harrison

The commitment to excellent teaching, careful management, and a culture of student exploration and learning has fostered a distinct SUDes culture based on shared values and a commitment to making more sustainable and humane cities. The programme has also relied strategically on the participation of outside professionals, visiting faculty, and critics to provide added perspective and expertise to thesis committees and studio reviews. Too many to list, the following stand out for the quality of their

regular and sustained contributions: Ania Pieranska (Cobe), Björn Ekelund (Warm in the Winter), Camilla Hedegaard-Møller (KADK), Daniel Wasden (Lund Municipality), Jenny B. Osuldsen (Snøhetta), Linus Zhang (LTH), Marie Claude Dubois (LTH), Martin Arfalk (Mandaworks), Martin Björklund (Arknat), Mateusz Mastalski (Henning Larsen), Par Gustafsson (SLU), Simon Sjökvist (KADK), Tess Broekmans (Urhahn), and many more. Of course, SUDes could not have thrived within the School of Architecture without the attention and support of former and current Heads of the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, including Kerstin Barup, Lars-Henrik Ståhl, Catharina Sternudd, and Per-Johan Dahl. MADE BY SUDes + 2026

Fraker, Professor and Dean Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at UC Berkeley, was also invited to join the team as a guest professor for 10 years, working with thesis students to develop the “what, why, where and how” of their degree projects.

Sustainable Urban Design Our shared commitment has developed into an internationally recognized programme, combining design excellence with interdisciplinary thinking and strong engagement with real-world urban issues. Situated within Lund University—ranked first in the world in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026—SUDes benefits from a broader institutional commitment to addressing global environmental challenges.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Over these 20 years, the curriculum has evolved around the classic model of semester-long studios, supported by topical seminars and guest lectures examining the practical and theoretical dimensions of sustainability in response to the growing urgency of climate change. Topics include urban regeneration, microclimate, density, regionality, public space, and many others, all aimed at supporting students’ design projects and broadening their perspectives.

The current studio sequence begins with Sustainable Urban Recycling, which explores the regeneration of an existing district. Students develop their skills in ‘reading’ the specific qualities of the city that afford opportunities for making the neighbourhood more sustainable in its social, spatial, and environmental dimensions. The second studio, Sustainable Urban Landscape, examines the role of the landscape as a generative force in urban design within a regional context. It eschews the false dichotomy between the city and the countryside, seeing the city as part of a living ecosystem continuum. It examines how the urban landscape can both mitigate and adapt to climate change while providing a new vocabulary for making more meaningful urban places. The third semester’s design studio, Sustainable Urban Dynamics, asks students to work between an understanding of the global dy-

The design studios are closely connected to professional practice through an extensive network of invited professionals from architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture, as well as our own alumni. They contribute through lectures, tutorials, and as guest jury members during mid-crit and final presentations, while the alumni network also helps us identify design sites with current and relevant needs, connecting students’ work to real-world contexts. The final semester is devoted to the Thesis, which explores the “what, why, where and

how” of an important topic of the student’s own choosing. The thesis challenges students to engage with pressing sustainability questions and explore how urban design can contribute to the transition towards more resilient and equitable futures. Since 2024, we have also collaborated with Arknat and Region Skåne on a design-build course in which students design and construct rest areas along Cykelleden Skåne. This collaboration has resulted in three ArkRests across Skåne: Utkik in Svalövs kommun, Röda Tråden in Höörs kommun, and Ramverk in Båstads kommun. Today, the SUDes team remains committed to educating the urban designers of the future, equipping them with the knowledge, imagination, skills and curiosity to help shape more sustainable and humane cities.

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namics shaping urban development and the unique features of a specific local place. Throughout the course, students investigate the design site’s context through mapping exercises, analytical drawings, research on urban processes, and an evaluation of current best practices.

Edinburgh Workshop Amsterdam Workshop

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Berkeley University

5 CONTINENTS 20 YEARS 340+ STUDENTS 40+ COUNTRIES 150+ GUEST LECTURERS 50+ CITIES

Oslo Workshop

Lund University Prague Workshop

Zhangjiakou Workshop Wuwei Workshop

Beijing Workshop Tianjin Workshop

Dujiangyan Workshop Shunde Workshop

Jiaxing Workshop Shenzhen Workshop

11+ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES 110+ KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 30+ WORKSHOPS

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Hong Kong Workshop

“Urban design determines how water is managed, heat is mitigated, biodiversity is supported, and people experience and interact with their surroundings.” Masoumeh Mirsafa Senior Lecturer Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Resilience by Design

01.

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Urban Design in Times of Climate Uncertainty

How can urban design strengthen the capacity of cities to adapt, transform, and thrive under changing climatic conditions?

Consequently, urban areas occupy a central position in both climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, making resilience a fundamental principle of sustainable design.

Climate change has fundamentally altered the conditions under which cities are planned, designed, and inhabited. Rising temperatures, more frequent heatwaves, flooding, droughts, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events are no longer distant projections but increasingly define everyday life in the built environment. These challenges are particularly significant in cities, which function as complex socio-ecological systems where diverse human and non-human actors, competing interests, economic activities, and critical infrastructures converge. This complexity makes cities especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the broader planetary ecological crisis. At the same time, cities are major contributors to that crisis, accounting for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption.

Historically, urban development has prioritized economic growth, often treating environmental risks as external challenges to be addressed through technical and engineering solutions. While protective infrastructure and technological innovation remain essential, they are insufficient on their own to address the complex and uncertain nature of climate change. This is because resilience is not simply a technical or managerial outcome—it is fundamentally a design challenge. The spatial structure of a city—its morphology, density, street networks, public spaces, landscape systems, and ecological infrastructure — shapes how the urban environment absorbs disturbances, regulates environmental processes, and adapts to changing climatic conditions.

design determines how water is managed, heat is mitigated, biodiversity is supported, and people experience and interact with their surroundings.

and economic change. This calls for urban design approaches that embrace flexibility, diversity, redundancy, and adaptability as fundamental principles.

The integration of green and blue infrastructure into streets, parks, and public spaces turns ecological systems into multifunctional infrastructure. This can reduce flood risk, moderate temperatures, improve air quality, and support biodiversity—while also creating healthier, more attractive places to live. Rather than treating adaptation as an additional layer imposed on the city, resilient design weaves climate responsiveness into the form, function, and everyday experience of urban space.

Ultimately, resilience by design is not about resisting change but about shaping cities capable of transforming alongside it. By integrating ecological processes into the physical structure of cities, urban design becomes a powerful means of creating places that are not only better prepared for climate uncertainty but are also more livable, regenerative, and capable of supporting both human and non-human life for generations to come.

Designing for resilience also requires a shift in design thinking. Instead of viewing cities as static and predictable, resilience recognises them as dynamic systems that continuously evolve in response to environmental, social,

Masoumeh Mirsafa MADE BY SUDes + 2026

From this perspective, resilience is embedded in the physical fabric of the city. Urban

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Exhibition on Housing Rights and the Home

FIONA DE HEER Ireland & The Netherlands Advisor Public Space & Green The Hague Municipality - The Netherlands fiona.deheer@gmail.com

Since then, I have lived and worked in different parts of the world, mainly through roles with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and various UN organizations. I started out as an intern in the Philippines and Japan, and later worked as an advisor and settlement planner in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Afghanistan. These experiences shaped my interest in intersectional and adaptable approaches that respond to different contexts, both during crisis and beyond. Looking back, it is the people and communities I worked alongside that have stayed with me the most.

I am particularly interested in ways of working that bring together different perspectives and build on local knowledge, priorities, and existing capacities. As an urban designer and advisor, I see my role primarily as a facilitator working alongside communities and local stakeholders, creating space for dialogue and shared decision-making, and supporting processes that are shaped by the people and places they concern. After returning from Afghanistan in 2023, I decided to move back to the Netherlands and bring these experiences into the public sector. I first worked at the national level and have since moved into a role at the municipal level in my new hometown. Here, the diverse communities and the challenges of density and climate change create an interesting new opportunity.

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

My academic journey began with Landscape Architecture at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, but I soon felt the need to broaden my perspective through a more international learning environment with a stronger focus on urban contexts. This led me to SUDes, where I graduated in 2017.

Afghanistan Earthquake Response & Women’s Health Centres

ASSISTANCE MODALITIES

Shelter Cluster Afghanistan ShelterCluster.org

Coordinating Humanitarian Shelter

Earthquake Response Khost & Paktika

Space for logos implementing organisation

During and after the earthquake many houses sustained damage across Khost and Paktika.

For some families the damage aﬀected their Rooms, for others their Compound walls, for some a combination of both. Partial damage to rooms

Total damage to rooms

Contact information Add information about implementing organisation and contact info Add information about AWAAZ

Partial damage to Compound wall

Total damage to Compound wall To support the families in the repair or (re)building of their homes, Assistance packages have been calculated, which are the same for all beneﬁciaries

There are many diﬀerent organisations providing technical assistance to these families, through diﬀerent methods

In the case of Partial Damage to rooms

Example 1

the Assistance package was calculated to be

+ Technical advice

Room repairs $$$

In the case of Total Damage to rooms

the Assistance package was calculated to be

+ Technical advice

The cost for repair/(re)construction of compound walls and common areas should be shared between households that live within the same compound, using the their allocated assistance package

New room $$$

Technical advice + money* + labour

Technical advice + money* + material + labour

Example 3

Example 4

+ Compound wall repairs $$$

Example 2

Technical advice + material + labour

+ Technical advice + money*

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*Money can be given in AFs or USD, depending on implementing organisation

Green courtyard for gardening & private access to sunlight for women

Different safe gathering spaces

small window

big windows

No view inside from street smaller window

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

Off grid energy sources

Nakivale Refugee Settlement edges and landscape

Unlike other programmes, SUDes really encourages you to work closely with your peers and learn from one another. The diverse experiences, approaches and perspectives within the group come together through the studio work, creating a great environment for collaboration, and shared learning.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

I would encourage all students to take risks and have fun exploring topics you are curious about before entering professional life. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but dig deep into the topics you choose—build strong arguments, understand the systems behind them, and identify where you can make an impact.

Secondly, make use of the knowledge and skills available across the university. In my case, learning from the Housing Management and Development subject greatly accelerated my learning which has helped me immensely in my career. Look for complementary expertise elsewhere in the building or across

campus, whether in public health and green space, feminist urbanism, potential ethical use of AI in urbanism, or processes which shape collective communities. This can help you avoid reinventing the wheel and accelerate your learning. In the future I hope students get the chance to learn more about social sustainability and processes, particularly intersectionality and how to organise participatory processes. I believe this is where we can create meaningful impact as urban enthusiasts and specialists. And the adventure doesn’t end when you graduate. I met some of my best friends through the programme, and years later we still have great fun together.

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Planting Plan for Refugee Settlement Urbanization Strategy Nakivale Uganda

HUGO SETTERGREN Sweden Expert in Climate adaptation, Landscape Architect IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute - Malmö, Sweden hugosettergren@gmail.com Since graduating from SUDes, I’ve tried different paths, looking for possibilities to make a change. First, after graduation, I worked as a guide, project leader and junior researcher in urban blue-green infrastructure at the Scandinavian Green Roof Institute in Augustenborg, Malmö. There I learnt how to design, construct and maintain green roofs, rain gardens, meadows and other urban blue-green systems. I got to meet students, politicians and professionals within architecture and landscape from all over the world. I learnt aspects of technical and maintenance as consequences of design. After that I’ve worked at Kristianstad Municipality with large-scale urban projects and small-scale private garden commissions. Somehow you always meet wonderful people along the way.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

PHOTO: Ulrika Belyazid

In 2024 I started working at IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, as an expert in Climate Adaptation with the focus on urban and rural landscapes. My group consists of brilliant colleagues within circular material use, urban development, climate calculations, wastewater systems, urban ecology and more. In my current role, I work mostly with municipalities and housing companies across Sweden, supporting them to adapt their physical environment to flooding and heatwaves through nature-based systems. Most of my time goes to teaching, leading workshops, designing tools for planners and writing reports. I recently got national funding approved for a project I will lead in the region of Gävleborg, where we will develop a new framework for water planning from a catchment perspective. That will be fun!

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

Collage of various sketches of St:Petri Malmö, Österlen, Pompeji, Cliffs in the bay of Naples and natural swimming pool designs.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

Collage of various sketches of solar panels on green roofs in Malmö, study of urban NBS and construction of green roofs.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

I really enjoyed SUDes, especially the time with my fellow students and professors. I enjoyed the international cross-disciplinary projects AND the focus on how to put spatial quality on paper, defining why, what and how a space becomes great. During the years after SUDes, I’ve discovered that many skills and thought patterns that we learnt in the programme are applicable in many situations connected to societal transformation. Almost all landscapes, whether urban or rural, are designed or managed by people. Re-designing the systems, patterns and uses of those landscapes is a crucial task in the context of climate change. As architects and urban designers, we are also communicators, bridges between other expertise and can facilitate change in many places of society.

I’d also encourage everyone to start a “greatplaces diary” to bring everywhere (inspired by Peter Siöström). In that diary you can record experiences of places you stumble upon, their spatial qualities, dimensions, scents and other things that “build up” the experience of that particular place. By collecting and reflecting, you will become better at designing more great places! On these pages I share a few of my own notes of this kind that I’ve recorded in the past years. SUDes taught me that process matters. There is no skipping to the final printed plans. Sketching, thinking, Redoing, finalizing, packaging, presenting-all steps matter. But maybe getting pen to paper most of all.

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

Among many things, the time at SUDes also taught me about collaboration, learning from people with knowledge in other disciplines and to always stay curious about things that you don’t know. I think that the curriculum gave room to explore different paths, software, techniques and perspectives, which I’m still grateful for to this day. I’d advise future students to dive into their topic of interest (and to connect the ideas spatially through design and reflection) and to learn from each other!

Urban Landscapes

02.

“Public urbanity must become more generous, inclusive, and holistic to support democratic, social, and sustainable landscapes.” Jenny B. OSULDSEN Partner, MLArch, MNLA, Dr.H.C. Snøhetta Professor in Landscape Architecture Former Ax:son Johnson Guest Professor SUDes, Lund University

SUSTAINABLE URBAN LANDSCAPES More than half of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, and by 2030 this number is projected to reach nearly five billion (www.unfpa.org/urbanization). As cities continue to grow and densify, landscapes are increasingly pushed into residual or in-between spaces. Yet urban landscapes are far more than leftover fragments—they are essential ecological, social, and cultural infrastructures that shape the quality and resilience of urban life.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

A central challenge for contemporary urban design is how to plan, design, and build the vast number of new landscapes required in rapidly urbanizing environments. As density increases, public spaces often shrink, making it even more critical to understand local, site-specific conditions. This requires a shift in mindset: instead of treating the spaces between buildings as secondary or residual, we must recognize them as the most important shared grounds of urban life. Designers must simultaneously zoom out to understand broader systems and zoom in to craft resilient, site-specific solutions. This dual perspective demands interdisciplinary collaboration and a holistic understanding of ecological, social, architectural and spatial dynamics.

Public urbanity must become more generous, inclusive, and holistic to support democratic, social, and sustainable landscapes. Urban landscapes should be treated as common resources—spaces that do not always need to be over-programmed or over-designed. Cities thrive when residents feel welcome, engaged, and empowered to take shared responsibility and ownership for their surroundings. Designing for people means creating environments that invite participation, foster belonging and support everyday life. Sustainable landscape design requires addressing the complexity of outdoor environments through an integrated approach to green, blue, and grey systems. In compact cities, where land is scarce and expensive, public spaces must perform multiple functions within limited areas. Small spaces must address the same ecological and social challenges as larger ones, but always as part of a broader network. Historical layers of a site can offer valuable insights and guide new design directions, helping reconnect contemporary interventions with the deeper identity of place. Over the past century, urbanization has significantly disrupted natural water cycles, contributing to flooding and weakening people’s

Time is an underestimated planning tool. All green spaces interact with the water cycle, creating unique microclimates specific to each site, city and region. By introducing recreational opportunities and beautiful landscapes with seasonal changes, urban green areas provide essential physical and mental health benefits. Networks of blue-green corridors can reintroduce biodiversity into hardscaped urban environments—an ecological function missing in many contemporary cities. Urban farming, energy and water harvesting, recycling, reuse, and shared public realms are all part of a broader environmental mindset that cities must adopt. Recreating nature in cities through renaturalization, nature-based solutions, and climate adaptation has gained a clear mandate under the UN’s Global Biodiversity Framework. Among the twenty-three targets to be achieved by 2030 are the conservation of 30 percent of land, sea, and inland waters; the

restoration of 30 percent of degraded ecosystems; and the halving of new introductions of invasive species (https://www.unep.org/ resources/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework). The Framework recognizes that reversing biodiversity loss—for the benefit of all living beings—is a shared responsibility and a common concern of humankind. These global commitments underscore the urgency of integrating ecological restoration and biodiversity enhancement into urban design, positioning cities as active agents in addressing planetary environmental challenges. The SUDes programme emphasizes a broad and forward-ooking understanding of what sustainable urban design in cities and landscapes can become. It is inspiring to see students deeply engaged in these questions. Their work forms a shared learning platform of ideas, discussions, reflections, analyses, and design proposals—each contributing innovative, site-specific solutions for the sustainable urban landscapes of the future. Jenny B. Osuldsen

MADE BY SUDes + 2026

relationship with water. Reframing water as a resource and a design parameter is essential for long-term resilience. Similarly, green mobility is a key component of sustainable urban systems, requiring a shift from private cars toward public transport, cycling, and walking.

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

VICTORY SQUARE Two Stage International Urban Planning Competition, 2nd Prize, Prague, Czech Republic, 2018; Mandaworks

KATERINA PAVLU VONDRA Czech Republic Architect SAR/MSA, Ing. arch. Mandaworks AB - Stockholm, Sweden katerinavondra@icloud.com

After graduating from the SUDes programme in May 2014, I moved back to Prague to complete my second degree in Architecture at CTU. After graduating, I started working at the collaborative studio COLL COLL, which operates in the fields of architecture, interior design, and urban design. In the summer of 2016, I moved back to Lund to work as a teaching assistant in the SUDes programme. I continued working as a teaching assistant until the end of 2017, combining teaching with freelance work.

In 2017, I also started collaborating with the Swedish office Mandaworks and eventually joined the practice full-time in Stockholm in 2018, where I have worked ever since. At Mandaworks, I have worked on a wide range of projects, from local ones to international competitions, spanning different scales and contexts. In addition to project work, I have also been involved in business development and contributing to the office culture. In my professional work, I build on the knowledge I gained during my studies in both Lund and Prague, combining different perspectives to achieve the most sustainable outcomes possible. I enjoy working across a wide range of scales, from designing custom furniture for interior design projects to developing large-scale urban planning visions. Moving between scales and working in different contexts is what brings me the greatest satisfaction in my work, along with testing new tools and approaches to solving complex problems.

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I was already studying for a Master’s degree in Architecture and Planning at CTU in Prague, Czech Republic, before coming to Lund. I was very interested in urban planning, its complexity, and its large scale, but I also wanted to explore the field of urban design, with a stronger focus on the design aspects of urban planners’ work. This was the reason I applied for the Erasmus Exchange Programme to spend a year studying Urban Design at LTH in Lund. After one semester in the SUDes programme, it became clear to me that I wanted to continue developing my knowledge and urban design skills there, so I decided to stay and complete the entire Master’s degree in Sweden.

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MADE BY SUDes + 2026

NEW SJÖSTAD: WATER, WALK WITH ME Competition EUROPAN 14, Shared Winner, Trelleborg, Sweden, 2017; Collaboration: Cyril Pavlu

GRASBROOK Two Stage International Urban Planning Competition, 2nd Prize, Hamburg, Germany, 2019-2020; Mandaworks

ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

SUDes is an excellent programme for anyone interested in gaining a holistic understanding of sustainable urban design. The programme is studio-based, with the majority of the time dedicated to the design work of the semester project. This structure allows students to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in the courses directly to a specific project site, testing their ideas and design solutions under the guidance of professionals from the field. One of the most valuable and inspiring aspects of the programme for me was the direct access to practitioners from architecture, urban design, and related disciplines, and the opportunity to learn from their experience.

Equally rewarding was the chance to meet and build a network of exceptional and talented people with diverse backgrounds and expertise, including both fellow students and guest lecturers, who changed every semester. Another highlight of my time in the programme was the organised study trips and field trips. They gave us the opportunity to explore different parts of the world, experience a variety of cultures firsthand, and broaden our understanding of designing for different contexts and levels of complexity.

I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work on sites of different scales and in diverse contexts, always beginning with thorough analysis and investigation before developing my own proposal and design narrative. The programme’s emphasis on understanding the challenges of each site, the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to achieving holistic and sustainable solutions, critical thinking, and open discussions about projects prepared me well for a professional career in urban design and architecture. It gave me the confidence and enthusiasm to tackle complex design challenges. Looking back on my time at SUDes, if I could study there again, I would make even greater use of the programme’s strong connections with the professional world. I would seek out internships and junior positions while studying and engage even more actively in discussions with visiting lecturers during lectures and design critiques. Over the years, the programme has built an outstanding international network of collaborators, alumni, and inspiring practitioners, which I believe is one of SUDes’ greatest strengths.

RAILWAY TEIIRRACE NYHAMNEN Public space design, Malmö, Sweden, 2016-2020; Mandaworks

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HLEMMUR SQUARE Invited competition & further commission, Shared 1st Prize, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2018+; Mandaworks

Andy Ryle Australia & United Kingdom Architect, Urban Designer SLA Architects - Copenhagen, DK aryle1992@gmail.com After an incredible exchange year at Lund back in 2017, and falling in love with the Nordic countries, it was always my personal ambition to return to Scandinavia for an extended period. When I applied for SUDes in 2020, I didn’t realise that it would mean making it my permanent home. Six years on, I face the daunting prospect that I must now spend the rest of my life cycling to work in the endless Danish winter. My fault, I must have missed the disclaimer on the application website.

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After three COVID-disrupted semesters, alongside my thesis, I opted to gain some experience on the other side of the Øresundfirst with Cobe, followed by Henning Larsen. After realising that one more commute over the bridge might break me, I ended up relocating to Copenhagen.

Upon completing my thesis in 2023, I was lucky enough to land a position with one of my dream offices, SLA Architects, and I’ve been here very happily ever since. The focus on designing for all life, interdisciplinary knowledge and nature-led solutions fits perfectly with my personal values and hope for a greener world. I’ve been lucky enough to work on projects in Denmark, Canada, the UK and especially the UAE, from master planning to pocket parks, from pre-concept, right through to detail design and construction documentation. The future needs to be led by nature, and so my ambition is to strengthen my skills in technical knowledge, as well as the shaping of design narratives, concepts and visualisations that allow for the creation of spaces that not only work well functionally, but socially enrich and culturally strengthen, too.

Rendered view of Refsbyen - Thesis Project adapted for Ideekonkurrence, 2024

As a programme, SUDes offers a framework that allows you to become exposed to, and focus on, vastly different aspects of the built environment. The breadth of the program allows for rich interdisciplinarity and collaboration across different professions and stakeholders. For students and young professionals, this can lead to unexpected and exciting paths to explore. The teaching staff at LTH are highly supportive of this exploration and actively encourage the development of your own interests. This allows you to cultivate a broader sense of what it means to shape the urban fabric, as well as engaging in your own development in more meaningful ways.

While the timing of my studies meant that my studio time with others was impacted by COVID-19, there were still ample opportunities for study trips and face-to-face meetings with leading industry professionals, academics, and peers. These created an invaluable experience that I am very grateful for. The programme is deeply grounded in its context - Lund is in one of the most forwardthinking, progressive regions in the world regarding egalitarianism, sustainability, democracy, and opportunity. Exposure to this environment helps shape, motivate, and engage you. SUDes is an inherently rewarding program, but beyond that, it prepares you for a fulfilling career and helps you build connections that will last long beyond those two years in Lund.

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I loved my time at SUDes. Coming from an architectural background, I already knew I wanted to have an impact on shaping the city. The scope of Urban Design as a discipline is far broader than simply ‘buildings,’ ‘open space,’ or ‘planning.’ I found those labels too restrictive and compartmentalised - the broad, holistic view of the built environment, and how it is influenced by countless other factors, is fascinating to me.

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Refshaleøen B&W Halls - Thesis Project adapted for Ideekonkurrence

Plan of Refsbyen - The idea competition examined the Refshaleøen area of Copenhagen as a prospective post-industrial redevelopment.

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Rendered view of Refsbyen - Thesis Project adapted for Ideekonkurrence, 2024

Bolzano, IT with Henning Larsen Architects

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Above: Master plan within existing urban fabric Right: Entrance experience into the site, a mixture of student residences, offices and co-working spaces and lively retail - human-scaled, and emphasising soft mobility Bottom: The Green Heart, with the existing warehouses on site repurposed as public, multifunctional halls for students and public use.

Nature Sanctuary, UAE, with SLA Architects

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Above: ‘Lake Lookout’ in Concept phase Far left: ‘Lake Lookout’ under construction Left: New Ghaf forest, establishing Bottom: ‘Gazelle Lookout’ in Concept Phase

“The objective is not to design for predefined groups but to acknowledge the diversity of human experiences and life situations as the starting point for urban design.” Ida Sandström Senior Lecturer Director of SUDes Master’s Programme Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

03.

Urban Coexistence

Urban Design Beyond Inclusion How can we design cities that are good for everyone? Or perhaps the question is: how can we design cities for the diversity of life? The inclusive city has become a central ambition in urban planning. Cities across the world strive to become more inclusive by improving access to public spaces, transportation, and services for people with different needs and abilities. While this ambition is undoubtedly important, it may not be sufficient if our aim is to create urban environments that respond to the complexity of life in cities.

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The concept of inclusion implies the existence of an established norm against which difference is defined. Inclusion then becomes a process through which those who fall outside that norm are invited into existing structures. This creates an inherent power relationship: someone has the power to include, while someone else is positioned as the one being

included. Even with the best intentions, such an approach risks reinforcing distinctions between groups – and as new needs and identities emerge, there is always a risk that some will remain outside the categories we recognize and design for. An alternative perspective can be found in Universal Design (UD). Rather than focusing on particular categories of people, UD seeks to create environments that work for as many people as possible from the outset. The objective is not to design for predefined groups but to acknowledge the diversity of human experiences and life situations as the starting point for urban design. This shift requires moving away from thinking about people primarily in terms of age, ability, or other predefined categories. Instead, it encourages us to focus on situations. A person may experience limited mobility when

This also means recognizing that cities are shared by humans and other forms of life that depend on functioning ecosystems. The decisions we make today shape the conditions for future generations. Designing for the diversity of life therefore requires expanding our understanding of users beyond present-day human populations. Rather than treating ecological systems and the needs of future generations as separate concerns, we should understand them as integral to the urban environments we create today.

From this perspective, the ambition goes beyond the notion of the inclusive city by creating flexible and adaptable urban environments. Different routes, accessible transport systems, and adaptable public spaces can accommodate different users without singling out particular groups. At the same time, urban environments can be designed to sustain ecological processes, strengthen biodiversity, and increase resilience to environmental change. Addressing this complexity requires interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together different forms of knowledge to understand and design for the interconnected social, ecological, and spatial dimensions of urban life. Ultimately, this is not about inclusion but about designing cities on the premise that diversity of life is a defining condition of urban environments. Ida Sandström

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pushing a stroller or recovering from an injury. Likewise, communication barriers may arise in noisy public spaces or for people with hearing impairments. By focusing on situations rather than identities, urban designers can recognize that human needs are dynamic, contextual, and often shared.

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Conceptual collage showing improvements for everyday life and connection to heritage sites along the main street of Al Dere West, Madinah. Credits to Gehl / Cassandra Lundgren.

Jonna Ekholm Sweden Urban Strategy Lead, Architect Gehl - Copenhagen, Denmark jonnaekholm@gmail.com

Today, I work as Urban Strategy Lead at Gehl. My role focuses on strategic work and visioning at the city and neighbourhood scale, bringing different themes together to create better urban quality. That means connecting mobility, sustainability, housing, public space, and public life rather than treating them as separate questions. I’ve also been fortunate to travel a lot through my work, meeting people through workshops, presentations, and engagement processes. It’s a very outward-facing way of working,

where conversations and collaboration are often at the heart of a project. At the same time, I’m proud to have stayed connected to the SUDes programme, meeting and exchanging with students every semester. For me, one of the greatest strengths of our profession is our ability to help people see their city diff erently—to reveal possibilities and potentials that aren’t visible today and turn them into something tangible. Ever since I did my master’s thesis at SUDes about the slum area Dharavi in Mumbai, I’ve had a special interest and focus on housing, social sustainability, equality, and global development. Still today, using urban strategy to contribute to cities that are not only better places, but more inclusive and equitable ones is the most important purpose of my work and I often feel that I make a contribution through the work I do.

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It’s now been ten years since I graduated, and I’ve spent those years based in Copenhagen, working at Gehl. While I’ve stayed in the same city, my work has taken me to very different places and projects around the world—in true SUDes spirit. Working in an international team and across different cultural contexts has been a big part of my professional life.

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Vision concept for the experience of the heritage route of Madinah, Saudi Arabia—for visitors and residents. Credits to Gehl / Ilia Anisimov.

Collage exemplifying improvements in mobility, public space and densification in the incrementally built area of Al Dere East. Credits to Gehl / Cassandra Lundgren.

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Strategy for mobility, public space and densification in the historical neighbourhood of Al Fath in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, as part of a city-wide upgrading strategy for the city’s heritage areas. Credits to Gehl / Ilia Anisimov.

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ALUMNI CAREERS & FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

As I see it, the greatest strength of the programme is its international perspective-it opens up the world to the students and builds confidence to work in different cultures and contexts, something which is worth protecting and even strengthening. I encourage every student to travel, work across different contexts, and—most importantly—learn from each other. Your classmates bring perspectives shaped by places very different from your own, so make use of that diversity. I would also encourage the programme to engage even more with questions of global development, equality and affordability, as these are increasingly fundamental to how we think about sustainable cities, and even greater emphasis on transformation: learning how to work with, adapt, and improve what is already there.

At the same time, stay grounded in the place you are working with. Be present at the architecture school, make use of the studio culture, and spend time understanding the life of a place. Go into detail when analysing and designing: observe how people actually

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behave, move, meet, and use spaces. And pay attention to what SUDes teaches you about working in different scales. At least for me, learning to work across different scales and contexts had a huge influence on my career and sparked my interest in strategic urban work. Moving between public space, neighbourhood, and municipal scales—and between small towns and large cities—teaches you to see how different urban questions connect. Finally, the time at SUDes is for visioning and exploring different themes of urban design and development. Therefore, be ambitious in your vision, and train your skills to read what is actually happening on the ground and test how the vision can be applied. The realities of practice will come from working experience (and I do strongly encourage internships to become a more integrated part of the programme) so stay true to experimenting as long as you can. You are creating places where people will live and spend their time-that’s the most encouraging and important task of the urban designer!

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Ambitious early activation project by the municipality at the heart of the new Mjøsfronten area. Image credit: Hamar Kommune.

Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian Iran Urban Designer, Researcher PhD Student in Environmental Design NextCalgary, SAPL, University of Calgary - Canada m.zanjanian@gmail.com After graduating from SUDes, I returned to Tehran and began my professional journey in urban design. One of the first projects I worked on was the redevelopment plan for an industrial area, an early opportunity to apply concepts I had learned at SUDes. Later, I joined NESHA, where I led multidisciplinary teams on projects and design competition entries, ranging from strategic planning and urban regeneration to public-space and landscape design.

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One of the most rewarding aspects of this work was seeing ideas developed on paper gradually take shape in the city and become part of people’s everyday lives. As my career progressed, I became more aware of the limitations of conventional urban planning approaches, including short-termism, gaps between policy and implementa-

tion, and limited opportunities for meaningful public participation. The pandemic further exposed the shortcomings of top-down decision-making and highlighted the importance of social connection and local action, reinforcing my interest in grassroots, participatory, and tactical approaches to city-making. Motivated to explore these ideas further, I returned to academia and am now pursuing a PhD in Environmental Design at the University of Calgary while leading research projects at NextCalgary, a platform that supports research, education, thought leadership, and community engagement. Looking ahead, I hope to continue exploring how temporary interventions in public spaces can help unlock community capacity and foster more connected communities.

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Pop-up Kiosk, Calgary, Canada, 2026; NextCalgary A mobile structure designed to create temporary gathering spaces and foster everyday interactions among diverse communities. Through community-led activities and knowledge sharing, it animates neighbourhood spaces and strengthens local capabilities. Photo: Fatemeh Saed

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REBLOC, Calgary, Canada, 2025; NextCalgary A board game designed to make city planning accessible to a broad audience by transforming real urban challenges into collaborative problem-solving activities. Photos: Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian

MaterPlan-Sketches Monday, June 3, 2019

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MaterPlan-Sketches 12:31 PM

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Tehran Plain’s Pulse of Life, Tehran, Iran, 2019; NESHA Awarded second place in the international competition Regeneration of an Urban Corridor: Planning and Designing the Ground Level of the Tehran–Tabriz Railway Tunnel.

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Monday, June 3, 2019

Nahjolbalagheh Park, Tehran, Iran, 2015; NESHA An urban landscape project that transforms a neglected section of the Farahzad River Valley into a vibrant public destination for both local communities and the wider city. Photo: Meysam Jalili

SUDes transformed the way I think about urban design. I came to understand that urban design begins long before drawing plans—it starts with observing, experiencing, and understanding how people live, move, and interact in cities. For me, this was a turning point, shaping how I explore cities, read their contextual qualities, and work across different scales.

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This transformation unfolded through engaging courses and memorable study trips that immersed me in public life—from exploring dense neighbourhoods on foot and cycling through the countryside to observing the rhythms of street life from a pavement café and experiencing diverse urban landscapes.

The programme provided invaluable insights, strategies, and tools for addressing the complex challenges of urbanism, many of which continue to inform my work today.

Nahjolbalagheh Park Master Plan sketch: Farnaz Farshad and Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian

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Let’s Shed a Light on the City: Places of Hope in the Time of the Pandemic, Tehran, Iran, 2020; A community-led tactical urbanism initiative that transformed threshold spaces in Tehran’s Nahjolbalagheh Park into places of reflection,dialogue, and hope through handmade candlelight installations during the pandemic. Photos: Mohammad Mohammadkhani

“Let’s design streets that encourage active outdoor lifestyles all year round, which will allow us to address health, social, environmental, and sustainability aspects by default.” Louise Lövenstierne Former Senior Lecturer Former Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Accessibility

04.

Thinking accessibility

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The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) report states that sustainable cities should be inclusive and innovative. In order to reach that goal, we need to ask ourselves how DESIGN can support a high level of affordance, foster participation and support social integration. Particularly, the aspect of accessibility has a strong role when aiming for these goals in the different parts of the design process – both early, in the analysis phase of an area and later, when discussing the vision and how to get there.

Urban environments should be designed for everyone, and public spaces have the possibility to be places for ALL people—regardless of age, disability, gender, income, or background. By CONNECTING places in cities that seem to be like isolated islands and badly

linked, many gains can be made. These places can vary, from monofunctional structures, housing areas that aren’t integrated with the surroundings because of unsafe and/or heavy infrastructure, to specific areas that were planned in a time when other ideals landed on the drawing tables. Another challenge can also be the accessibility and proximity to green areas, which might be too far away for people to access. The benefits and advantages of working with these aspects in the city are many—fewer segregated areas and more opportunities for people to meet. Accessibility is very much about making it easier for people to meet and to move around in the city in different modes of transport - to make sure that the design supports different options such as public transport, fast bicycle

There are many successful projects where barriers and fenced-off areas in a city have been turned into meeting places or have been re-thought to become new generators of urban life. Thinking INNOVATIVELY about accessibility and how design can support people’s interaction is a necessary challenge that we urban designers need to take on and develop.

At a larger scale, the political and social strategies involving accessibility can generate a great impact on how the movement, inside or between cities is made. Connecting the public transport infrastructure with the regional network is creating a new culture of everyday possibilities. We should offer a greater palette of social and economic opportunities, rather than zoned, monotonous areas, or being stuck in cul-de-sacs.

Louise Lövenstierne (1973–2023)

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routes, carpools etc. Linking different parts in the city through ATTRACTIVE streets, bicycle- and pedestrian paths, will create synergy effects in many aspects. Let’s design streets that encourage active outdoor lifestyles all year round, which will allow us to address health, social, environmental, and sustainability aspects by default.

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Structure plan — A phased industrial redevelopment adjacent to the planned Dag Hammarskjöld Boulevard: Transformation of Expressway to a boulevard.

Program for ‘event city’ - working with mixed and overlapping uses activating the area. Currently on-off planning.

Ashwin Karjatkar India, Sweden Urban Designer, Architect City Planning Office - Gothenburg, Sweden ashwin.karjatkar@stadsbyggnad.goteborg.se

My role as an urban designer within the city planning office has a focus on early planning phases where various aspects such as building density, traffic planning, social infrastructure that needs to be synthesised with design. Since completing SUDes, I have worked in various parts of the world with projects in South-east Asia, India and Sweden. This

journey around the world has helped in many ways to develop an understanding of the culture of cities and planning issues. Looking ahead, it seems paramount to integrate research and analysis with design. During my time in SUDes, the intense and integrated course specific to each year was what I enjoyed the most. Combining landscape studios, redevelopment and global perspectives along with study visits has helped broaden my horizons. The group of students from across the world in each course makes for great discussions. The programme has given me the right tools to work in any part of the world. One might not know all the answers but it teaches students to look in the right places. It helps formulate arguments and design choices to further the city life perspective.

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Cities have been of interest ever since my architecture studies and thus my career path led me to work with cities. My current role as an urban designer at the city planning office is both challenging and rewarding. One of the many advantages of working with the city is the possibility of working at different scales, testing, analysing planning ideas and visualizing the consequences of planning decisions early in the process.

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Structure - Integrating across an existing barrier by reinforcing and extending existing connections, new tram stops strategically placed and new socially activated green corridors that create access to the forest on the hills.

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Program for Gårda, Gothenburg - Sketch from early planning studies - Integrating neighbourhoods with connections and placemaking.

Program for Gårda, Gothenburg - Sketch from early planning studies: Re-interpreting traffic separation & Creating streets with co-presence and placemaking.

Section - Possible reclaim of roads for park / public space

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Redevelopment of large-scale roads designed around traffic - Making place for ‘being’ in the street. Phase 1—the tram line, as shown in the image above.

Johannes Stenvall Stille Sweden PhD student, Planeringsarkitekt & Urban Designer Luleå University of Technology - Sweden johannesrydbo@gmail.com Before joining the SUDes Master’s programme in Lund, I completed a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Spatial Planning at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona.

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I graduated from SUDes in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, and moved to Malmö, where I joined the planning department at Lomma Municipality. There, together with my fellow SUDes alumna Erica Välimaa, I spent two formative years gaining first-hand experience of Swedish municipal planning. My work ranged from strategic planning to detailed development planning, allowing me to contribute to projects at multiple scales and deepen my understanding of planning practice within a municipal context. During this time, I also participated in the Europan competition together with Pontus Wirf, another SUDes alumnus.

After two years in municipal planning, I moved to the Danish consultancy Niras. There, my work focused primarily on digital planning tools, broadening my understanding of the increasingly digital landscape of planning practice. I also worked as an educator, developing my pedagogical skills alongside my professional expertise. Nearly two and a half years later, I returned to academia as a PhD student at Luleå University of Technology. Since January 2026, I have been commuting between Luleå and Malmö while conducting research on walking as a mode of transportation—a topic I care deeply about. In many ways, I see this as a continuation of questions first sparked during my time at SUDes, where the programme’s engagement with mobility, sustainability and urban life inspired me to explore these subjects further.

Circus Mälarporten

Circus Mälarporten welcomes you to a new and spectacular placemaking strategy towards a safe and inclusive new city district. The proposal suggests a circus concept – a touring, temporal, transportable set of different interventions to colonize the new area in different places in different periods of time as the construction of Mälarporten continues. The circus area finds different configurations within four different sites throughout a period of ten years’ time. Why a circus? Some critical problems can be attacked with the circus concept.

Moveable & temporal The nature of the circus is to move around. This is suitable for the site as development can continue without being hindered by the temporal inventions. It is also easier to create an intimate space with smaller physical structure, something needed for an area that do not yet have people living there. This is smart way of using as little resources as possible in something that we know will be temporal. Colorful & luminous The circus theme brings joy and happiness to its location with all the colors and lighting associated with the circus theme. In Mälarporten, the circus is

Moveable & temporal The nature of the circus is to move around. This is suitable for the site as development can continue without being hindered by the temporal inventions. It is also easier to create an intimate space with smaller physical structure, something needed for an area that do not yet have people living there. This is smart way of using as little resources as possible in something that we know will be temporal. Colorful & luminous The circus theme brings joy and happiness to its luminous locationColorful with all&the colors and lighting associated with the circus theme. In Mälarporten, the circus is

Europan Competition - Västerås Illustrations by Pontus Wirf & Johannes Stenvall Stille

designed as a lit up star in the industrial desert. Activities for all Activities attract people and people attract more people. The circus offers a variety of activities to further bring sense of safety and life to the area. A natural meeting point The programming strives towards being a natural meeting point in double sense. The social aspect is to welcome people from all of Västerås to take part in the programmed activities. The green aspect, the natural aspect is to allow for different sorts of temporal planting. What is designed is the movable planters and the moveble small scale farming slots!

For each configuration the circus area is designed with elements from four different themes: culture & events, play & sports, food & drinks and green & growing, themes identified to attract a variety of social spheres and to connect them within the framework of the circus. The mix of sociotopes gives great value for a small piece of land as the different activities will create synergy effects towards a social mix in the area Mälarporten, even before its construction. The themes all have small and portable architectural constructions to allow for the activity in mind, some spontaneous and some more formal.

A natural meeting point The programming strives towards being a natural meeting point in double sense. The social aspect is to welcome people from all of Västerås to take part in the programmed activities. The green aspect, the natural aspect is to allow for different sorts of temporal The themes all have small and portable architectural ActivitiesWhat for all meeting to point constructions allow for the activity in mind, some planting. is designed is the movable plantersA natural and the moveble small scale farming slots! spontaneous and some more formal.

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Circus Mälarporten

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Master plan of proposal for Malmövägen, internal sketch workshop at Lomma Municipality. Illustration by Johannes Stenvall Stille & Erica Välimaa

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Axonometric view of proposal for Malmövägen, internal sketch workshop at Lomma Municipality. Illustration by Johannes Stenvall Stille & Erica Välimaa

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Sketches for new development in Lomma. Illustration by Johannes Stenvall Stille

Abstract conceptual sketch of new sports hall in Lomma

One of the most valuable aspects of SUDes was its international environment. Meeting students from different backgrounds and with different perspectives challenged the way I thought about cities and design. The many discussions in studio and crits taught me not only to argue for my ideas, but also to question them. That ability to balance conviction with openness has stayed with me in both professional practice and academia. Coming from a Bachelor’s degree in Spatial Planning, I found the combination with SUDes especially valuable. The programme strengthened my design thinking, spatial understanding and ability to work conceptually, while my planning background gave me a more practical understanding of planning processes and

implementation. Together, these two perspectives have shaped the way I work today, at the intersection of planning, design and questions of urban life. I also appreciated the flexibility of the programme, which allowed me to explore courses beyond the core curriculum. One of these choices led me to the Urban Shelter course and a month in the Philippines—an experience that gave me new perspectives as well as lasting friendships. Today, as a PhD student, I can also look back on SUDes from a new perspective. The programme prepared me well for practice, critical discussion and design thinking, but moving into academia has also made me realise how different research and academic writing can be from the studio-based environment of SUDes. In that sense, SUDes gave me a strong foundation while also making me aware of the questions I wanted to continue exploring. MADE BY SUDes + 2026

My time at SUDes was both rewarding and formative, even though much of it took place during the pandemic. Only the first semester was fully on campus, which inevitably shaped the experience, but the programme still gave me a great deal.

“Bringing the human scale, material, and dimensions into the public realm is an important challenge for the future of our cities.” Peter Siöström Associate Professor Emeritus Architect SAR/MSA Co-Founder and Former Director of SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

05.

Shaping the Urban Ground

Creating places that we care about and hold in our minds

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Looking at how cities are designed in the 21st century, the Urban Ground needs to address a whole new set of questions. How can places be sustainable, technically up to date, and liveable?

Climate change has given us a new set of challenges and conditions to address, but it has also made us, in some ways, more aware of our quality of life. Today, extreme weather is at the core of global threats. The situation we see in too many cities is accelerating urban migration, urban decay, and outdated infrastructure. As a result, many neighbourhoods lack both ecological and humanist perspectives. The most important challenge today is how to transform our existing cities to make them

more sustainable and liveable. The quality of the public realm and the Urban Ground are the physical “elements” that come together to make cities liveable and enjoyable. Urban design shapes the quality and character of the public realm. It plays a fundamental role in how streets and places work together as social platforms for everyday life. Human scale, as demonstrated throughout the history of human settlement, remains an essential design perspective in creating liveable cities. A sensitive design of the Urban Ground is based on human dimensions, touch-friendly materials, comfortable furnishings, and spaces that give places their character. Visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile perceptions of urban places are fundamental dimensions of how we experience our cities. They create

The interior-like dimensions of a space and the attention to detail create intimacy. The fragrance of plants maintained by residents, the sound of children in the inner courtyard, activities in the street, the design of furniture, the shade, and the small scale of a narrow street can transform an ordinary space into a socially vibrant and liveable place. Dimensions that fit

the human body shape the street and make it a comfortable place to experience. Bringing the intimate into the public realm is an important challenge for the future of our cities. Sensitive design and careful choices of materials — paving, railings, and street furniture — invite human contact. Shaping the Urban Ground creates carefully made, humane, and inclusive urban environments. Peter Siöström

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memories that are long-lasting. An awning creates shade, while vegetation brings fragrance to a place and invites people to sit, chat, observe, and relax. Small-scale creates a sense of closeness. Creating a balance between the dimensions of natural spaces and the urban form gives the city a new quality — the urban living room. Inside and outside, private and public, become part of the same social life.

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Working at IPR allowed space for innovation and creative freedom in process design. From the beginning, it was clear to me that a new landscape vision for Rohan Island (a 56-hectare area along the Vltava River) must be a broad societal agreement first and a master plan second. Politicians change, public sector employees change, but a society-wide consensus endures. True understanding of the environment is key to a lasting agreement. Therefore, before creating a brief and drafting master plans, we decided to involve the public in the discussion. Apart from workshops, lectures, and guided walks, we created an outdoor exhibition so everyone could learn about Rohan Island’s history and present-day challenges. Pictured is one of ten stops in this exhibition—the former site of Karlín’s harbor, which we brought back to life. / Pobrezni st. and U Nadrazni lavky st. (photo Jan Malý, IPR)

Rozálie Kašparová Czech Republic Architect, Urban Designer STUDIO BISTRO - Prague, Czech Republic rozalie@studiobistro.cz

IPR was a truly incredible place to start my career. It allowed me to gain unique know-how within the Czech context, meet experts from all over the world, and be introduced to many lifelong friends who shared my worldview on sustainable urban design. In 2023, three of

My work requires a lot of public speaking and interacting with people. An urban designer’s work influences the environment we live in for centuries, so we must be able to listen, collaborate, advocate for our decisions, and explain them to everyone, not just other professionals.

those friends and I established our own urban design studio—STUDIO BISTRO. It felt like a natural continuation of our work at IPR, but now we apply what we learned to different cities across Czechia. Working every day with my best friends and traveling for work across the country is a new dimension of my life that I cannot praise enough. All of our projects incorporate social and environmental dimensions, utilize participatory methods, and seek effective, sustainable ways to create inclusive urban realms. I believe that, as urban designers, we must learn to cooperate not only with other professionals in the field, but also with politicians and local communities. Developing the skills to openly talk to people, never losing your curiosity about how the spaces you are designing work, is vital for sustainable urban design.

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In early 2016, while finishing my SUDes thesis, I returned to Prague to intern at the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). Newly established, IPR was a unique public sector institution where fresh perspectives and progressive professionals gathered. I stayed for seven years, working on projects at various scales. On one end of the spectrum was the Prague Chairs & Tables project—focusing on placemaking via new urban furniture. On the other end, I was leading a fouryear Rohan Island project, shaping the vision for a 56-hectare green area along the Vltava River via a participatory tender.

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For a long time, we have seen that traditional, grand revitalization plans often fail—they take too long, undergo endless redesigns, and cost far too much money. That’s why at STUDIO BISTRO, we developed an approach called the “Gradual Transformation Plan”, which allows changes to happen step by step, tailored to the available budget and the community’s energy. Between 2025 and 2026, we applied this method in public spaces at the Petriny housing estate. Locals love this green, well-designed 1960s neighborhood, so our goal wasn’t a radical overhaul—it was sensitively making daily life even better. Instead of grand gestures, we focused on minimal, cost-effective interventions: play spots, chill zones, urban gardening, a dog park, and—mainly—turning a vast intersection into a vibrant community plaza through temporary features. Co-designed with hundreds of residents through workshops, this live plan combines a spatial study with an action guide—making real change possible right now.

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One of the first projects I worked on at IPR was Prague Chairs and Tables. It is based on temporary public space transformations using movable street furniture—no heavy construction required. As we took the project further into tactical urbanism, we surprisingly realized that even converting a parking lot back into a square takes months, simply because of the sheer number of people, approvals, and bureaucracy involved in Czech legislation and practice. The core point of this project at Mariánské square was clear: while we draft the permanent revitalization design, let’s transform the space right away so people can start using it now. Well, this change happened back in 2019, and today we are still at this stage—but you know what? I think it’s good enough for now. / Mariánské Square (photo Jan Malý, IPR)

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Reconstruction of the Museum Oasis—the space between busy roads and around the buildings of the National Museum— was a challenge IPR needed to take from sketch to implementation in just one year for 100th anniversary of the Czech state. A task large enough that, in Prague, it would normally take 10 years to complete. But we managed, solely thanks to an unprecedented cooperation among all city stakeholders and firm political backing. In the public sector, strong political governance is a key factor in the success of any project. It also worked as a catalyst: since 2018, there have been many more changes implemented, including a new tram line. Turns out, the most important thing is to start with physical changes as soon as possible—but you must be sure any change is done in a sustainable way. / Museum Oasis – National Museum Surroundings and Celakovského Park (photo Jan Malý, IPR)

My nearly two years studying and living in Sweden were, without exaggeration, a life-changing experience. I grew not only professionally, but also as a human. Thanks to my teachers and classmates, I became a more open, caring, and understanding person, and I dare to say these are crucial traits for any architect or urban designer.

projects, you always need to listen to your client, negotiate with authorities, and collaborate with other professionals. I truly believe that intentionally selecting students from diverse cultures and academic backgrounds creates an organic, vital learning experience that even the best-curated curriculum cannot replicate on its own.

What made our 2014 SUDes group so incredibly special was its diversity. For me, it was the first time cooperating not only with architecture students from all over the world, but also with peers from landscape architecture, urban planning, environmental studies, and other disciplines.

I feel incredibly grateful for my time in Lund. Even though it has been ten years since I left the SUDes programme, I have never left the SUDes family. Since 2020, I’ve had the joy of closely collaborating with the Urban Dynamics course, and I travel every winter with our Studio Bistro to Peter’s cabin in Småland for team building. But most importantly, I made lifelong friends whose careers, personalities, perspectives, and fashion choices continue to inspire me.

This diverse dynamic helped me broaden my knowledge, better understand both classic and emerging issues in urban design, refine my communication skills, and, above all, realize that I didn’t need to compete with my peers—I needed to cooperate with them. That is the most valuable lesson a school can offer, because in the professional world, nobody works in isolation. Even on the smallest

Thank you, SUDes, for showing me what architecture is really about—people.

At STUDIO BISTRO, our approach is built on interdisciplinary collaboration. Our founding team brings together an urban designer, an architect, a transportation engineer, and an art historian. We all share a background in the public sector—and Kristýna is even an active politician.

At STUDIO BISTRO, we believe the most vital work in our field happens alongside cities—which is why we organize competitions, draft briefs, and facilitate participatory processes. For example, in the city of Most, we are organizing a competition for a new footbridge. Today, the city is separated from Lake Most by a major transport corridor—a physical and mental barrier we aim to overcome by creating a new architectural landmark that serves also as a catalyst for vibrant new public spaces on both bridgeheads.

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Thanks to this diverse background, we tackle projects across all scales and topics—sustainable mobility strategies, public-space design, urban design or new districts. We tackle all these topics using a participatory approach. One of our focus areas is reducing visual smog, which remains a major challenge throughout the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe.

Rebekka Guðmundsdóttir Iceland MSc Architect, Urban Designer Office of Transportation and Urban Design, City of Reykjavík - Iceland rebekka.gudmundsdottir@reykjavik.is Since graduating from Lund University, I have worked as an Urban Designer for the City of Reykjavík within the Department of Transportation and Urban Design. I initially joined as a Project Manager and, for the past several years, have served as Head of the Urban Design Division. Within the Urban Design Division, our work focuses on developing policies, proposing new public realm projects and urban improvements, presenting proposals to the City’s Planning and Transportation Council, and guiding projects from the earliest planning stages through design development and ultimately to construction.

in working groups and steering committees concerned with the development and use of Reykjavík’s public realm. For the past four years, I have also served the governing majority of the municipal council in the municipality where I live. During the 2022–2026 term, I was a member of the municipal Planning Committee, appointed as an independent planning expert rather than as an elected political representative. This role provided invaluable experience, allowing me to view planning and governance from both the administrative and political perspectives simultaneously. Public administration is complex and demanding, but it is also incredibly rewarding and intellectually engaging.

As urban designers, we oversee and manage the design and implementation of projects that shape the city’s public spaces in their broadest sense. We also lead or participate

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Reykjavík´s Urban Design policy 2025

Laugavegur at Hlemmur square

Leading a project of this scale has been both challenging and rewarding, requiring a clear vision, a solution-oriented mindset, and the ability to recognise opportunities and adapt quickly whenever circumstances change. Collaboration has also been essential, as projects of this nature involve a wide range of stakeholders. Although it has been one of the most complex projects I have worked on, it has been incredibly rewarding to see it become reality. Several phases have now been completed, while others are currently under construction. The greatest satisfaction has come from seeing these new public spaces filled with people and everyday life. That, to me, is the clearest

indication that the project has achieved its goal: creating places for people by balancing environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Another project I am especially proud of is Reykjavík’s Urban Design Policy, which I led together with my former colleague Edda, also a graduate of the SUDes programme. The policy was unanimously approved by Reykjavík City Council at the end of 2025. I cannot think of another project that has received such broad political support from both the governing majority and the opposition. The policy is a comprehensive 70-page document outlining the principles of urban design and how we can improve the quality of the built environment. It establishes a clear long-term vision for Reykjavík, it will be exciting to see how future planning projects put these principles into practice. MADE BY SUDes + 2026

One of the largest and most significant projects I have led for the City of Reykjavík has been the design of Hlemmur Square, one of the city’s most ambitious street and public space transformation projects. I managed the project from the earliest planning stages through detailed design and into construction.

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Hlemmur Square. Design: Mandaworks and Dagný Land Design for the City of Reykjavík

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Lækjartorg, preliminary design by SP(R)INT STUDIO and Karres en Brands

I also greatly appreciated the structure of the programme. Expectations were clear, and the learning environment was both inspiring and supportive. Although the programme was demanding, it was also one of the happiest and most memorable periods of my life.

I also feel incredibly fortunate to continue my connection with SUDes for the past several years as a guest jury member and by helping create opportunities for SUDes students to collaborate with the City of Reykjavík on urban design projects in the challenging climatic conditions of Reykjavík. Finally, the friendships I made during SUDes will be the most valuable thing I took away from my studies. I gained friends for life!

Lækjartorg, preliminary design by SP(R)INT STUDIO and Karres en Brands

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The SUDes programme provided me with knowledge that I continue to use every day in my professional work. The interdisciplinary lectures by leading practitioners in urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture gave me a strong professional foundation and broadened my perspective. The opportunity to work on design projects abroad and experience different cultures was equally valuable.

06.

Making Places

“We can only set the stage and try to create the best possible conditions for people to be inspired” Andreas Olsson Architect SAR/MSA Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

MAKING PERFORMATIVE PLACES A place can be described as the mental image of a space. So how is a space transformed into a place? Is it through our experience of the physical space—through our senses and the experiences we have there—that the space becomes a memory in our minds? A space can be carefully designed, beautifully detailed, and technically perfect, but without human experience it remains only a space. It is only through seeing, hearing, touching, moving, meeting, and simply spending time there that it can gradually become something meaningful to us. A place is therefore not only something that is designed; it is something that is experienced and, over time, given meaning.

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As architects, landscape architects, and urban designers, it is our responsibility to design the best urban space, not only meet the minimum requirements of accessibility, green area factor, and other technical requirements,

but also try to make every place unique and special. We must try to evoke the curiosity and excitement of people, so that they want to enter, explore, stay, and return. The physical space will always form the backdrop and stage for human activity. Even a space designed with the best intentions will not become a place until people start using it and caring about it. In this sense, the people who use a space are also part of its design. So, how do we set about designing that kind of space? How do we create something from nothing? Context, context, context—we must always consider the context. The environmental, cultural, and economic contexts are all equally important to take into consideration. A place does not exist in isolation. It is always connected to what surrounds it, to its history, its landscape, its climate, its people, and the stories that have already taken place there.

At the same time, we must remember to look at all the good examples of places around the world and learn from them. Never copy, but instead try to understand why a specific place works in its unique context. What is it that makes people want to stay there? What makes them feel comfortable, curious, excited, or connected? What are the qualities that remain in their memory after they have left? By looking at these qualities, we can begin to understand the core values of a place—the genius loci, or the spirit of the place. The genius loci is not necessarily something that can be directly designed or drawn. It is something that can be discovered, understood, and strengthened through design.

A space may have some physical restrictions and limitations, but there is no limit to the impact it can have on people. We all have places that we remember for reasons that may have very little to do with their physical qualities. Perhaps it is an experience, a person, or a particular moment that has given the place meaning. These memories become attached to the physical space and help transform it into a place in our minds. In the end, we can only set the stage and try to create the best possible conditions for people to be inspired. We cannot design the experience itself, but we can create the conditions for something meaningful to happen. The space is ours to design; what it ultimately becomes is created together with the people who use it. Andreas Olsson

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To make a place specific to its context, rather than creating a generic design, is even more important now in an era of internationalization, where everything tends to look the same.

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Södertäljevägen, Stockholm — transforming a traffic barrier into a connected urban street and mixed-use corridor. Client: City of Stockholm & Jernhusen | Design team: &Rundquist and Mandaworks | Year: 2020–2025

DELIA MOLDOVEANU Romania Architect, Urban Designer SAR/MSA &Rundquist - Stockholm, Sweden delia.moldoveanu@rundquist.se Since graduating from SUDes at Lund University, my professional journey has been rooted in the intersection of architecture, urban design and strategic planning. I joined &Rundquist in Stockholm in 2014, where I now work as a lead architect and urban designer on projects across Sweden. At the heart of my work is what we, at &Rundquist, call nyttoarkitektur—architecture for the public spaces where everyday life unfolds. These environments are often technically and functionally complex, tied to infrastructure, systems and long-term developemnt. My role is to navigate this complexity — to identify and shape the architectural qualities that give these spaces meaning, while balancing technical constraints with social value in dialogue with the actors connected to each place.

restructuring a car-oriented 1960s suburban centre (Centrala Skärholmen) into a dense, vibrant district built around sustainable mobility, to leading a multidisciplinary team in shaping a more integrated and adaptable campus for Danderyd Hospital. Beyond Stockholm, I work with municipalities across Sweden on questions of densification, connectivity and urban identity—helping cities find new direction from within. Alongside project work, I contribute to the development of the practice itself— managing the office and leading our internal professionalisation group, &Stad, where we deepen shared knowledge at the intersection of city-making and the built environment. Working iteratively between analysis and design, I seek to translate constraints into clear, meaningful spatial qualities that support everyday life in the city.

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My work spans multiple scales, from early strategic studies and masterplans to detailed design and implementation. In the Stockholm region, I have contributed to several largescale urban transformations — from rethinking a traffic-heavy corridor (Södertäljevägen) as a connected, mixed-use city boulevard, to

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Centrala Skärholmen — restructuring a 1960s centre into a dense and connected urban fabric. Client: City of Stockholm | Design team: &Rundquist and White Arkitekter | Year: 2019–2020

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Danderyd Hospital — evolving a hospital campus into an urban structure of streets, courtyards and green spaces. Client: Locum, Region Stockholm | Design team: &Rundquist | Year: 2023–2025

Looking back, SUDes was formative not only in terms of knowledge, but in shaping how I understand and work with cities as complex, layered systems. The programme’s close link between analysis and design, its international setting and its multidisciplinary character have all had a lasting impact on my professional practice.

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The studio-based approach was one of the most valuable aspects — ideas were continuously tested through design, and that movement between analysis, concept and spatial form is something I still rely on daily.

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The diversity of perspectives within the programme — among both students and visiting lecturers — fostered a way of working grounded in dialogue, collaboration and critical reflection. In practice, this has proven essential: projects depend on bringing together different people, interests and scales into a coherent whole.

Further strengthening the link between academic work and real-world processes — governance, stakeholder dialogue and implementation — would better prepare students for the realities of practice. My advice to current students is to embrace the collaborative environment, stay curious across disciplines, and make full use of the opportunity to move fluidly between understanding the questions and shaping them through design. SUDes taught me to work with cities as an ongoing process — an iterative movement between analysis, dialogue and design, and a practice of translating complex conditions into clear spatial form and strategy.

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Centrumstråket, Karlskoga — a new urban spine connecting everyday life, movement and local destinations. Client: Karlskoga Municipality | Design team: &Rundquist | Year: 2025–2026

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Marcin Wojciech Żebrowski Poland Project Manager, Podcaster, Educator Urbcast & Urban Partners - Copenhagen, Denmark urbcast.pl & info@urbcast.pl When I graduated from SUDes, I did what most of us do: I went looking for an internship or a design job. My first years in Copenhagen were spent in the field of urban design, working at offices like Urban Power and Henning Larsen, where I learned a great deal about how a design can slowly turn into a real place. Somewhere in the middle of those years, I noticed something about myself. What I was

best at — and what I actually enjoyed — was not the actual design work. It was everything around it: talking to people, understanding what they needed, telling the story of a project so that others could see it too. Showcasing the work, city marketing, building relationships, bringing new projects in.

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That

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led

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things.

The first was a pivot inside the architecture and urban design projects. At Henning Larsen, I moved away from design and into business development and project acquisition for large-scale urban projects — the phase where a project is still an idea, a relationship and an argument rather than a set of drawings. The second came a few years later. The more of those projects I helped bring in, the more I wanted to understand how they actually come together: how they are financed, structured, governed, and made to happen at all. That question brought me to Urban Partners, a leading European investment company, where I work today on urban regeneration and public affairs — building relationships with cities and partners, and translating urban policy into something investors and developers can act on.

Some of the people who made my time at SUDes so much fun, and from whom I learned so much. Towards the end of our master’s, a few of us came together to form a design collective called Urban10.

So instead of drawing projects, I now work with communicating ideas and bringing people together. I write reports and papers — most recently, two European studies, The Copenhagen Way (with Ramboll and BLOXHUB) and Un-

If there is one thing this path has shown me, it is that I am the one who decides its direction — and that it is never too late to reinvent yourself.

And I talk to people: since 2020, I have hosted Urbcast, a podcast on cities, architecture and urban development, now at 300+ episodes with 180+ guests from across our field, reaching listeners in more than 130 countries. It started as a side project and became the backbone of my professional life. Thanks to that, I have not only secured jobs, but also moderated dozens of conferences and debates — something I have always dreamt of doing.

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locking Sustainable Urban Regeneration in Europe (with C40 Cities and Arup).

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Moderating a panel on urban resilience at Urban Land Institute Poland in Warsaw, 2026

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Recording one of my most exciting podcast episodes with Enrique Peñalosa—the former Mayor of Bogotá

became colleagues, and colleagues who became friends. Years later, they are still the first people I call when I need an honest opinion about a project or a city. But what I carry with me most is not only the network. It is primarily an understanding of the built environment as a whole — the sense that a street, a housing policy, a business case and a climate target are all part of the same conversation, and that you cannot work seriously on one without at least being able to speak the language of the others. That way of seeing things is what allowed me to move from design into acquisition, and from acquisition into investment, without ever feeling that I had left the field.

And SUDes showed me something else that I did not fully appreciate at the time: there is

no single way to build a career in this field. There are hundreds of ways to contribute meaningfully to urban design and architecture, and only a few of them require drawing. Design, policy, finance, communication, research, teaching, media — the built environment needs all of them, and the programme prepares you to work between them rather than inside just one.

To anyone in the programme now: pay attention to what you are actually good at and what you actually enjoy. They are usually the same thing, and they may have very little to do with what you came here to study.

The Copenhagen Way - the most valuable and impactful report I’ve co-authored in my career to date.

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SUDes gave me a group of people: peers who

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07.

Reflections from SUDes collaborators

Ania Pieranska Architect, Artist, Project Manager, Cobe

Since the beginning of my involvement with SUDes in 2024, I have taken great pleasure in participating in the programme, both as a guest lecturer and a critic. The longstanding heritage of Lund University as one of Scandinavia’s most prominent educational institutions is reflected in both the faculty’s dedication and openness. The approach to teaching is dynamic, thoughtful and ensures that students are encouraged to look as deeply as possible into the layers of their projects. A more unexpected aspect of this place, that I found very touching over the years, is just how welcoming the atmosphere here is - it is easy to feel at home among the course’s leaders and students, even on the shortest of visits. What turned out to be the most mind-opening feature of SUDes for me, was the unique synergy that arises when students of different backgrounds come together in common pursuit of urban design. The multiplicity of approaches that stems from the fact that the students hold bachelor’s degrees in areas as different as architecture, landscape architecture and planning, showed me that my own approach, which I grew so used to over the years, is just one of many. For this, I’m very grateful!

Björn Ekelund

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Being part of the SUDes team is an honor. Both for taking part in the network of extremely professional and competent teachers and lecturers, but even more important because the students at SUDes are a source of inspiration!

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The topic of urban design is still vague in Swedish architecture, so what happens at SUDes is that students by design are showing the great sustainability potential of cities. Through the programme the students learn how to move from large-scale strategies down to the important detailing of public and private space, where buildings and landscapes are integrated. They thus know how to design performative streetscapes, place-specific building typologies and adapt density while at the same time finding beauty and a sense of place within a site. These skills are also why our office, Warm in the Winter, has several former SUDes students as colleagues: they understand and are able to design performative cities as an important way forward towards a sustainable future.

Planner, Architect SAR/ MSA, Senior Lecturer in Architecture, PhD, Partner, Warm in the Winter

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Camilla Hedegaard Møller

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Associate Professor, PhD, Architect MAA, MDL, Head of the Institute of Architecture, Urbanism & Landscape, Royal Danish Academy

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The most important thing I’ve learnt from being a guest lecturer at SUDes is the value and joy of teaching students from literally all over the world. The diverse and international crowd of students and teachers provide a great professional richness. To me, SUDes is characterized by being a professional, diverse, and inclusive community. The common denominator is the desire to create better societies through landscaping and urban planning as well as through a profound understanding of humane public spaces. Looking beyond the international perspective the particular architectural didactics of SUDes is also notable. In my eyes, SUDes as a learning environment is characterized by a particular openness and kindness that enables the co-existence of people of many different professional backgrounds, expressions and positions. There’s no dominating professional norm or judgemental approach, but instead an open and questioning attitude to education and tutoring. This approach to learning is not only noticeable among the teachers. It is also a competence that is adopted by the students. I’m led to believe that this is also one of the reasons why SUDes is a network and culture, rather than solely an education.

It has been nothing short of a privilege to be part of the SUDes team. The programme is exceptional in that it brings together students of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture from all over the world. This creates fantastic opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration between people with unique backgrounds and experiences. Urban projects are a team effort, and SUDes provides students with opportunities to develop teamwork and negotiation skills while further strengthening their individual design abilities.

Daniel Wasden Architect SAR/MSA Lund Municipality, Guest Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Lund Institute of Technology (LTH), Lund University

SUDes combines a people-focused and humanistic approach to both urban design and education while keeping pace with the latest technological advances in the field. This creates excellent opportunities for students to broaden their perspectives and strengthen their ability to balance multiple interests into a cohesive whole.

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At SUDes, students are trained to use design as a methodology for addressing complex urban challenges. The iterative process of sketching, building models, and collaborating are key elements of this unique master’s programme. Most importantly, SUDes fosters a strong sense of community, friendship, and openness to new ideas and differences. It lays the foundation for a way of thinking and a culture that I believe are key to shaping a sustainable future.

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Marie-Claude Dubois

M. Arch., PhD, Professor, Division of Energy and Building Design, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund Institute of Technology (LTH), Lund University

Participating in the SUDes programme has been a fantastic opportunity for me to engage in deeper discussions and reflections on sustainability in the context of urbanisation. Within the programme, these discussions are grounded in a broad and holistic perspective that encompasses energy use in building operation, construction materials and their embodied energy, renewable energy systems, water management, food and nutrition security, citizen participation, environmental psychology, landscape planning, transportation, communication, and much more. Indeed, the programme addresses almost all the elements that contribute to creating good, liveable, and sustainable cities. The collaboration with my colleagues at Lund University’s Institute of Architecture and Built Environment has been invaluable, providing a rich environment for knowledge exchange, stimulating critical reflection, and sustaining a continuous creative dialogue. The international character of the programme brings a diverse cohort of students each year, with each participant contributing unique cultural backgrounds, traditions, experiences, and perspectives on sustainability and urban design. In recent years, new topics such as permaculture have been introduced, creating important links between urban planning, landscape design, and food security. These additions encourage students to reflect more deeply on the relationship between nature and architecture, fostering a shift from an anthropocentric view of development towards a more nature-centred and regenerative perspective.

During the early years of building the program, there was a huge entrepreneurial energy. We were constantly experimenting with new ways of teaching, drawing inspiration from different projects, and pushing boundaries. It created a culture where both staff and students saw urban design as a broad and dynamic tool—not a new concept, but a fresh way of focusing on what really matters when creating cities and spaces for people. It became a true melting pot of architecture, landscape, planning, and sustainability.

Martin Arfalk

Landscape Architect LAR/MSA, Founder & Partner, Mandaworks

For many years, SUDes was a second home to me—a place where knowledge, curiosity, and lifelong friendships came together. Meeting students and guest lecturers from around the world in Lund opened connections that have stayed with me, particularly in China. Today, I work with and alongside alumni from the program, and I’m genuinely proud to have been part of so many talented people’s journeys.

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As the programme grew, we found a good balance between curiosity and experience. The discussions became richer, shaped by the knowledge and perspectives everyone brought. Rather than prescribing a fixed destination, we encouraged each student to find their own path while contributing to a shared vision.

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Martin Björklund Design Engineer, Project Manager, Arknat

As a design engineer, my professional life is usually focused on planning, calculations and sitting at an office desk. That is why it feels like a true privilege to spend each spring since 2023, in the world of education together with SUDes. So much creativity and curiosity that everyone should surround themselves with! The opportunity to meet the architects and urban designers of the future is just fantastic. Working side by side, we create places in and with nature where people can gather, rest, and experience something meaningful. I am very happy LTH gives this opportunity to students—not every school offers this practical and real course! Through Arknat, which every year creates site-specific shelters around Sweden, I’ve learned that building with our hands changes us. It connects thinking and doing in a way that is both grounding and inspiring. The ArkRest semester gives both teachers and students the rare opportunity to follow a project through its entire journey — from the very first concept to the very last nail.

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The experiences gained during these weeks and months are invaluable. Beyond technical and practical knowledge, we learn how projects truly develop and how strangers, through shared effort and responsibility, can create not only a place in nature, but also mutual respect, trust, and lasting friendships. GO ArkRest GO! GO SUDes GO!

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Having been a critic at SUDes over the past few years, my relationship with the programme has gradually become more than simply participating in reviews. It has been built through human connections: meeting staff, students and other critics, returning to conversations over time, and often continuing discussions beyond the course itself. That continuity is something I value and has made the exchange more meaningful than a series of individual teaching moments. What stands out to me about SUDes is, first of all, the people. The staff and students create a strong core and a real sense of community, one that does not seem to end with the course itself. We have experienced this very clearly at Henning Larsen, where SUDes alumni have become an important part of our Urbanism team.

Mateusz Mastalski Architect, Urban Designer, Associate Design Director, Head of Urbanism, Henning Larsen

Another strength is the complexity of the assignments and the variety of responses they produce. There is rarely one obvious answer. A project can develop into a landscape strategy, architectural intervention or social project, reflecting how disciplines, scales and interests overlap in cities. Most importantly, sustainability is not treated as a separate layer, but as a question of urban form, where social life, landscape, climate, transformation and identity become spatial decisions.

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I also value how grounded the topics are. The projects start from real places and issues that cities are facing now: transformation, climate, social change, public space, landscape and identity. This makes the discussions relevant not only academically but also in relation to the realities of urban practice.

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Simon Sjökvist

Former Project Manager Cobe, Assistant Professor, PhD, Institute of Architecture, Urbanism & Landscape Royal Danish Academy

I have been affiliated with SUDes for the past ten years, both as a lecturer and a critic. It has been both inspiring and rewarding to take part in the students’ work as well as to present and engage in critical discussions about my own work. To me, the work at SUDes is characterized by a handson and concrete approach to urban planning and design that I appreciate and find important. There is also a genuine interest in how urban planning and design can enable a transition towards a more sustainable society, and what concrete measures can contribute to such a development. To me, this represents a very Scandinavian approach to planning and thinking about cities and urban development.

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At the same time, SUDes is a very diverse and international programme, with students from a wide range of nationalities and professional backgrounds. This is reflected in the students’ projects and gives a richness both to the work of the studio and the discussions amongst critics and students. Moreover, the fact that the semester projects are often located abroad, gives insights into different planning and building systems and traditions.

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I came into contact with SUDes as the Urban Recycling group made their first excursion to Amsterdam and visited our project on the island of Oostenburg in the former harbour area. The next year I was invited as visiting critic. I’m impressed by the international collaboration that takes place at SUDes: students from all over the globe learning from each other. Different cultures with knowledge in the field of urban design, planning, architecture and landscape architecture work together.

Tess Broekmans Urban Designer, Partner at Urhahn | Urban Design and Strategy, Professor of Urban Design, TU Delft

Sustainable urban design in all its complexity is about sharing and spreading knowledge. That is why I look forward to meeting the students every year: it is an opportunity to explain how my work evolves, but the feedback from an international perspective is equally important. Listening to each other is key in the process of urban development. Together we can make a sustainable future!

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Teaching at SUDes is a pleasure because feedback is honest and to the point, but with much attention for the individual skills of each student. The group of teachers and visiting critics is a source of inspiration and fun. In 2021, we experienced online collaboration as the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam joined forces with SUDes in the Sustainable Urban Landscape project in Iceland.

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Moving Forward

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Twenty years of SUDes gives us a reason to look back, but perhaps more importantly, it gives us an opportunity to look forward. For me, this anniversary is also an opportunity to ask: what should SUDes contribute in the decades to come? As more of our lives move into digital and increasingly fragmented spaces, the city remains one of the few arenas where we encounter people beyond our chosen networks. Streets, squares, parks and other common spaces require us to find ways to navigate difference. How we design these spaces therefore matters not only for how cities function, but for our capacity to live together. This places a particular responsibility on urban design. We need environments that are generous enough to accommodate different uses and ways of inhabiting the city, robust enough to change over time, and specific enough to create places people care about here and now. For SUDes, moving forward means continuing to develop the capacity to design such environments: connecting research and practice, critical thinking and design, while understanding the design process itself as a way of producing knowledge. It means preparing students not only to respond to the conditions they en-

counter, but to question them, test possibilities and propose alternatives through design. One thing I have always valued about urban design is its strong relationship with the future. Urban design is, by its nature, an investment in what comes after us. The places we shape today will be inhabited, adapted and interpreted by people we will never meet. Designing well therefore means responding to immediate needs while creating environments that can support lives and uses we cannot fully anticipate. This matters at a time when confidence in the future can no longer be taken for granted. For many, the future is increasingly associated with uncertainty and risk rather than possibility. Perhaps one role of urban design is to make a different relationship with the future tangible: to show, through the environments we create, that the future is something we share responsibility for and something worth investing in. We cannot know what the next twenty years will bring. But urban design is always, in some sense, an act of confidence in the future. Ida Sandström

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The Future of Sustainable Urban Design

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SUDes Team Andreas Olsson Architect SAR/MSA Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Ida Sandström Senior Lecturer Director of SUDes Master’s Programme Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Masoumeh Mirsafa Senior Lecturer Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Teresa Arana Aristi Architect SAR/MSA, Urban Designer Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Catharina Sternudd Former Associate Senior Lecturer Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Jesper Magnusson Senior Lecturer, Head of School of Architecture, Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Lars-Henrik Ståhl Professor Emeritus Urban Design and Urbanism Former Director of SUDes, Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Louise Lövenstierne (1973–2023) Former Senior Lecturer Former Course Leader, SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Per-Johan Dahl Associate Professor, Docent, Head of Department, Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Peter Siöström Associate Professor Emeritus Architect SAR/MSA Co-Founder and Former Director of SUDes Department of Architecture and Built Environment LTH, Lund University

Special thanks Donlyn Lyndon (1936–2026) Eva Li Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design, UC Berkeley Former Ax:son Johnson Guest Professor SUDes, Lund University

Harrison Fraker Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design, College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley Former Ax:son Johnson Guest Professor SUDes, Lund University

Jenny b. Osuldsen Partner, MLArch, MNLA, Dr.H.C. Snøhetta Professor in Landscape Architecture Former Ax:son Johnson Guest Professor SUDes, Lund University

Linus T. Zhang Associate Professor, Department of Water Resources Engineering LTH, Lund University Chairman of the Board, Nordic Association for Hydrology

Made by SUDes+

Alumni careers and future perspectives Book editor:

Teresa Arana Aristi

Chapters Introducing SUDes:

Teresa Arana Aristi

Resilience by Design: Urban Landscape: Urban Coexistence: Accessibility: Shaping the Urban Ground: Making Places:

Masoumeh Mirsafa Jenny Osuldsen Ida Sandström Louise Lövenstierne Peter Siöström Andreas Olsson

Alumni:

Andy Ryle Ashwin Karjatkar Delia Moldoveanu Fiona de Heer Hugo Settergren Johannes Stenvall Stille Jonna Ekholm Katerina Pavlu Vondra Marcin Wojciech Zebrowski Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian Rebekka Guðmundsdóttir Rozálie Kašparová

Reflections from SUDes collaborators:

Ania Pieranska Björn Ekelund Camilla Hedegaard Møller Daniel Wasden Marie-Claude Dubois Martin Arfalk Martin Björklund Mateusz Mastalski Simon Sjökvist Tess Broekmans

Cover graphics:

Teresa Arana Aristi

Photographs:

SUDes Archive Teresa Arana Aristi

Made by SUDes +

Made by SUDes+ Alumni careers and future perspectives Published September 2026

Sustainable Urban Design Master’s Programme Department of Architecture and Built Environment P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/study/sustainableurban-design-masters-programme-TASUD

Faculty of Engineering, LTH Lund University P.O. Box 117, 221 00 Lund, Sweden www.lunduniversity.lu.se

Made by SUDes+ Alumni careers and future perspectives 2026