The UIA World Congress of Architecture 2023 is an international invitation for architects worldwide to explore the future of the built environment. The event this year that brought together 6,000 participants worldwide, focusing on “Sustainable Futures – Leave No One Behind”, was set on discovering how architecture influences the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from Climate Adaptation, Rethinking Resources, Health, Inclusivity, and more. While visiting this year’s edition in Copenhagen, the ArchDaily team had the chance to sit down with Jan Gehl, the father of people-centered design. The discussion revolved around 50 years after the launch of his world-renowned book, Cities for People, the first publication to reflect on how to properly develop cities on the human scale. Moreover, the interview followed his keynote speech at the UIA 2023, “Cities for People – 50 Years Later."
According to Gehl, the purpose of a city resides in allowing people living on its premises to create a fulfilling life. Moreover, the city should be safe for all ages and should foster opportunities for all financial backgrounds. In fact, he believes there is a direct correlation between happiness and the quality of life in cities. Gehl believes that a city should “leave no one behind,” and after his education in architecture and urban planning in the 50s, he began developing a new understanding of the definition of architecture. "We form the cities, but the cities form us. We form the buildings, then the buildings form us" he stated during the conversation.
In the 60s, there were absolute silos. That the social sciences were here, the technical sciences were here, and the architects and engineers did the buildings. They had the idea that it didn’t matter what you built; people would be happy anyway. – Jan Gehl
In the early days of his career, the common understanding of architecture was centered around modernism. There was a strict disciplinary approach to architecture, and through that, it did not interact much with other disciplines. In the interview, he explains how he would witness this cross-disciplinary criticism as an up-and-coming architect.
We thought about the borderland between social sciences and technical sciences. We [Gehl and his wife] went to Italy for half a year with a grant to study how people use public space in Italy. it appeared that nothing was known about how the physical world influenced the lives of people, which was very much pioneered in our schools of architecture.– Jan Gehl
Gehl believes that a people-oriented approach to architecture and city planning is vital. He criticizes the architects concerned with building taller or more eccentric-looking buildings, which do not add much to the quality of the environment. Moreover, he claims that when architects and city planners who have formal training design towns, it does not usually succeed due to its disconnection with human needs. In fact, the architect states that through careful consideration of the people in the town, where they sit, what they like to do, and how they spend time, one can begin creating healthy and livable cities.
I have really started making the people visible by collecting data about where they will go, where they won’t go, and what factors made this place wonderful or that place awful. By data, we have made people much more visible. What you count, you care for.–Jan Gehl
Since Copenhagen was named the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023, the initiative has highlighted the role of architecture in shaping a sustainable future. At the congress, “The Copenhagen Lessons” were unveiled, compromising ten principles intended to facilitate swift and transformative progress in the field of sustainable construction.
Stay tuned to the collaboration with Copenhagen, the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023.
