Over 250 designers and architects graduated from The Royal Danish Academy in 2025, presenting innovative projects that tackle pressing global challenges through thoughtful design. Their work is featured in the graduation exhibition 'New Design Architecture,' showcasing a diverse range of proposals that address sustainability, social equity, and environmental concerns through creative architectural and design solutions.

Among the standout projects is a comprehensive proposal to redesign Gothenburg's harbor to support sustainable fishing practices. Students Emma Ejeskär and Carolina Ivarsson developed 'Heart of Gothenburg,' an alternative vision for the Gothenburg fish harbor that focuses on preservation rather than expansion. Their bottom-up approach introduces a family of structures called 'Kajen,' including Båken, Lotshuset, Bodar, and Vakare, each serving distinct social, functional, and symbolic roles. The project promotes degrowth principles and aims to strengthen the connection between the city and sea through site-specific architecture.

Another notable project addresses Denmark's looming housing crisis for elderly care. 'Finding Home' by Josephine Eilert Bjørkholm and Sebastian Søgaard Hjortlund Svendsen tackles the country's projected shortage of 15,000 nursing home spots, particularly for people with dementia. Their proposal explores how individuals with early-onset dementia can remain with their families while contributing to the revitalization of declining villages like Havnebyen in Odsherred. The project includes a comprehensive master plan and idea catalog that identifies areas for both preservation and change, proposing to convert vacant houses into dementia-friendly homes.

The sustainability theme continues with 'Inside Out,' a project by Alejandro Mata Zenteno and Or Hoyben that addresses the urgent need to decarbonize existing housing. Focusing on Denmark's parcel houses, which represent 41 percent of the national housing stock, the project reimagines homes as adaptable systems. Their innovative approach aligns energy efficiency with material sufficiency through spatial design, proposing interventions that reduce heated space during colder months while allowing expansion in warmer seasons.

The fashion industry's relationship with body image and sustainability is challenged in Mengjie Hui's 'Twist Structure, Twist Perspectives.' This project critiques traditional relationships between clothing and the body through sculptural silhouettes and exaggerated proportions. By questioning gendered silhouettes and ideals of the female body, Hui's work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 for gender equality, combining advanced design techniques with exceptional craftsmanship to present a bold and inclusive vision of fashion.

Several projects demonstrate innovative approaches to cultural preservation and environmental adaptation. Gabriela Sofia Valenzuela-Luczynska's 'Fragments of Børsen' responds to the 2024 fire that damaged one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings, exploring reconstruction as a practice of data visualization. Meanwhile, Phillip Kruse McKay's 'Living with Stormwater' addresses climate adaptation by exploring how data-driven design can transform rainwater from a threat into a resource, using a Danish park as a case study to test new architectural models for responding to cloudbursts and rising groundwater.

The exhibition also features projects that bridge industrial heritage with environmental consciousness. Aleksandar Petyov Donov's 'Museum of Maritime Remains' transforms decommissioned oil rig infrastructure in Aberdeen's harbor into a civic maritime museum, critiquing Western recycling practices and promoting local reuse. Alex Ianchenko's 'Path Independence' explores the intersection of ecology, land use, and industry in southern Sweden, proposing architecture as a mediator between conflicting perspectives of environmentalists and forest industry workers.

The Royal Danish Academy's graduation exhibition represents five years of intensive study in architecture and design, with students exploring their fields through the institution's threefold foundation of knowledge: academic research, artistic research, and professional practice. These graduate projects mark not only the conclusion of their education but also their readiness to address complex global challenges through innovative design solutions that prioritize sustainability, social equity, and community engagement.