Henrik Bjørn Valeur (; born 13 October 1966) is a Danish architect-urbanist, founder and creative director of UiD (Denmark) and UiD Shanghai Co., Ltd (China), curator of CO-EVOLUTION: Danish/Chinese Collaboration on Sustainable Urban Development in China, which was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2006, and author of the book India: the Urban Transition - a Case Study of Development Urbanism (2014), which is based on his experiences teaching, researching and practicing in India.Richa Sharma. Development Urbanism, Issues and possibilities: In Conversation with Henrik Valeur, Tekton, Vol. 2, Issue 1, March 2015 (pp.94-109), ISSN 2349-6282.
Early life Henrik Valeur was born in Denmark in 1966 to visual artist Mogens Valeur and fashion designer Birgitte Valeur. His grandfathers were both civil engineers.Niveditha Ravikumar. Interview: In Conversation with Architect and Urbanist Henrik Valeur, Zingy Homes, Tete-A-Tete with Experts, October 26, 2015. Retrieved on October 27, 2015. He grew up in Tibirke (Tisvilde), a small village located to the north of Copenhagen, and studied architecture with Enric Miralles at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in Barcelona and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen, from where he graduated in 1994. He then worked briefly for Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam.Arkitektur og procestænkning i Skovhuset , Furesø Avis, November 20, 2007 (in Danish). Retrieved on September 18, 2015.
Career Denmark, Sweden In 1995 Henrik Valeur started out on his own making competition entries of which a few were awarded, including a proposal for a new entrance to Copenhagen Zoo"Jury’s comment: The small – and rather inaccessible – project resembles an elevated landscape, through which a vigorously formed passage is cut out. The proposal is praised for its artistic nerve." ("Dommerkomiteens bemærkninger: Det lille - og meget vanskeligt tilgængelige - projekt har karakter af et hævet landskabeligt terræn, hvorigennem der skæres en stærkt formet passage. Forslaget fremhæves for sin kunstneriske nerve.") Arkitekten no. 17, Konkurrencehæfte 48 (p.12), 1996, ISSN 0004-198X (in Danish). and for a new university on Amager (U97),"Jury’s comment [excerpts]: With its numerous layers of identity and use the overall structure can be seen as a place where dialogue and concentration meet. [...] As a whole, this entry can be seen as a contribution to the discussion of the university of the future and ways in which planning can actively intervene in a building project which is to be developed over an extended period of time." ("Juryens bemærkninger [uddrag]: Den overordnede bygningskrop med sine mange identitets- og brugslag kan ses som et sted, hvor dialog og koncentration mødes. [...] Som helhed kan forslaget ses som et indlæg i diskussionen om Fremtidens Universitet og om, hvordan planlægningen kan gribe mere aktivt ind i et byggeri, som skal udvikles over lang tid.") Arkitekten no. 5, 1998 (p.19), ISSN 0004-198X (in Danish). following which, in 1997, he founded UiD, a networking urban consultancy.
In 1999 he was invited to present his work at Arkitekturgalleriet, an exhibition venue for young architects at the Danish Architecture Centre. He included in the exhibition, entitled ‘99 but sometimes wrongly referred to as UiD/Henrik Valeur, not only his own work but the works of other architects, as well as material that is not commonly seen in architecture exhibitions. Architectural projects were not presented as unique, solitary pieces, but were mixed with commercials, news pieces, slogans and snap shots.Henrik Valeur (ed.). ’99, Architectural Publisher B, 1999, . The Danish architecture critic Allan de Waal commented:
“These are radical attempts at a new architectural practice, but almost de-illuminated. At first sight the quotations out of context or the mischievous clippings on the walls critically turn their back on the subject of architecture, away from any architectural core. But it is there! Floating somewhere in between text fragments, photos [...]”."Dennegang er det radikale tilløb til en ny arkitektonisk praksis, men nærmest de-illumineret. For de løsrevne citater eller drilagtige annonceklip på væggene viser i første omgang kritisk væk fra emnet bygningskunst, og ikke umiddelbart ind mod en arkitektonisk kerne. Men den er dér! svævende et sted mellem tekststumper, fotos [...]" Allan de Waal. Alt eller intet, Information, February 19, 1999 (in Danish). Retrieved on September 16, 2015.
With Swedish architect and comedian Fredrik Fritzson, he initiated CoMa in 2001 – a research project about the newly formed Øresund Region, centered on the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö, hence the name CoMa, and the urban regions of Los Angeles and Pearl River Delta/Hong Kong. The project was based on a “diagnosis of society as a multicultural society. [T]his diagnosis becomes the frame for conceiving a new regional strategy that crosses the national borders of Denmark and Sweden, using urbanism as an integrating force”.Christian Borch. Regional Urbanism, in Futures of Cities (p.63), The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture Publishers, 2008, .
CoMa was exhibited, in the format of a multimedia installation, at Form/Design Center in Malmö in 2002Lars Lönroth. Konstreportage om multimedia-utställningen "Region Coma" på Form Design Center i Malmö, Sveriges Radio Program 1, April 19, 2002 (in Swedish). and at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen in 2004.CHECK-IN Øresund - ny udstilling på Dansk Arkitektur Center, Realdania, March 26, 2004 (in Danish). Retrieved on April 18, 2018. In addition, the team organized a conference about the Øresund RegionMaria Hellström. En gryende dialog. Svensk-dansk grupp vill ge Öresundsregionen en egen, tydlig prägel , Dagens Nyheter, May 2, 2004 (in Swedish). Retrieved on September 16, 2015. and contributed a sound installation to an international group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde.Yrr Jónasdóttir. Ljud som samtidskonst i det offentliga rummet , Synspunkt, no. 5, May 2003 (in Swedish). Retrieved on September 16, 2015.
For the development of Trekroner East in Roskilde (2002–03), Henrik Valeur organized a workshop with groups of young architects, artists and representatives of various interest groups, the municipality, local citizens and experts, who worked together to design the landscape of this new part of the city - prior to the design of the buildings,Jan Bille and Henrik Valeur. Bedre byrum i Roskilde – 5 dages debat om byudvikling, Stads- og havneingeniøren no. 2, 2003 (pp.41-43), ISSN 1902-2654 (in Danish). thus making it a practical example of landscape urbanism and of a participatory and collaborative planning process.Birgitte Kleis. Trekroner Øst – en anderledes byudviklingsproces, Arkitekten no. 30, 2002 (pp.12-13), ISSN 0004-198X (in Danish).
During the early 2000s, Henrik Valeur and Fredrik Fritzon developed a series of planning tools intended to make planning processes flexible and inclusive.Pernille Stensgaard. Så er der opbrud!, Byplan Nyt no. 3 2005 (pp.6-9), ISSN 1602-9038 (in Danish). These tools, which include the 1:1 Sketch Model, the 4D+ Model and the Change Design Model, were demonstrated and discussed at a fair-like idea shop, which they organized for the 6th European Biennal of Towns and Town Planning in Copenhagen in 2005.Process Planning: Parallel Processing, Arkitekten no. 7, 2005 (pp.24-25), ISSN 0004-198X (in Danish). Several young Danish and Swedish architecture offices participated in the idea shop, which was entitled A New Future for Planning – Young Architects Show the Way!Henrik Valeur (ed.). A New Future For Planning, Architectural Publisher B, 2005, .
Henrik Valeur and Fredrik Fritzson's ideas of planning were implemented in the development of Musicon in Roskilde, for which they made the structure plan and the process manual, based on a scenario game and role play with local stakeholders.Urbanism, UiD. Retrieved on November 26, 2015. Roskilde Municipality was awarded the Danish Urban Planning Award in 2012 for the "exceptionally creative planning" of Musicon.Vinder af Byplanprisen 2012, Dansk Byplanlaboratorium, October 5, 2012 (in Danish). Retrieved on February 3, 2016.
China Henrik Valeur was appointed curator of the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2006.Rune Huvendick Jensen. Biennale: Fremtiden foregår i Kina, Danish Architecture Centre, September 7, 2006 (in Danish). Retrieved on September 17, 2015. He traveled to China where he met with universities and city administrations in several of the biggest Chinese cities.Bert de Muynck. An interview with Henrik Valeur, Domus China, no. 4, 2007, ISSN 0012-5377. Retrieved on September 16, 2015. Based on the conversations he had with people there he conceived the project CO-EVOLUTION - Danish/Chinese Collaboration on Sustainable Urban Development in ChinaSzilágyi Gábor. Co-evolution / a kína-jelenség a velencei dán pavilonban, Epiteszforum, October 10, 2006 (in Hungarian). Retrieved on September 17, 2015.Torben Weirup. Danske arkitekter ud af osteklokken, Berlingske, September 6, 2006 (in Danish). Retrieved on November 6, 2015. in which young professional Danish architects and architecture students would work together with professors and students from leading Chinese universities in the cities of Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Xi’an.Anette Sørensen. Ikke et designkorstog til Kina, Danske Ark Byg no. 8, 2006 (pp.36-37), ISSN 0908-1690 (in Danish). The curator and his team wrapped the exterior of the Danish Pavilion in a green scaffolding, often seen on Chinese construction sites, and conducted a research project on problems and possibilities related to the processes of rapid urbanization in China, which constituted the background story of the exhibition, literally in the format of billboards mounted on the interior walls of the pavilion, with the project proposals developed by the four teams placed as free-standing installations in space.Finn Selmer. High-speed Urbanism, Arkitekten no. 12, 2006 (pp. 68-71), ISSN 0004-198X (in Danish). CO-EVOLUTION was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National ParticipationThe 10th International Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved on September 16, 2015. by the jury of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition, Richard Sennett (President), Amyn Aga Khan, Antony Gormley and Zaha Hadid, who said:"We salute the creativity, intelligence, and generosity of the Danish pavilion".10th International Architecture Exhibition: Official Awards, Architektur Steiermark. Retrieved on November 6, 2015.
Henrik Valeur was himself a member of the jury for the 7th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2007.Kjersti Wikstrøm. The second largest city in the world, Danish Architecture Centre, November 13, 2007. Retrieved on September 17, 2015. That year he also founded UiD Shanghai Co., Ltd in China and was the co-curator, with Professor Pan Haixiao of Tongji University, of the exhibition Harmonious City,Henrik Valeur (ed.). The Harmonious City, Danish Architecture Centre, 2007, (in Chinese). which included examples of Danish experiences with sustainable urban developmentWang Yanlin. Global wisdom can craft solutions to urban woes, Shanghai Daily, September 26, 2007. Retrieved on September 16, 2015. and projects by students from Tongji UniversityFei Lai. Green means go for sustainable development, Shanghai Daily, August 21, 2007. Retrieved on September 18, 2015. and was exhibited at Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.Fei Lai. Danish and Chinese ideas on the 'Harmonious City, Shanghai Daily, September 17, 2007. Retrieved on September 16, 2015.