Last Friday, PLH held a strategy day for its 90 enthusiastic employees at BLOX in central Copenhagen. CEO Søren Mølbak started the day by setting the scene, outlining the current situation in the architectural profession. Danish architecture is renowned worldwide for a holistic and humanistic design approach that creates an optimal framework for human activity and aesthetic expression. However, structural changes underway in the industry, including mergers and acquisitions, rigid tendering conditions and new contractual forms, are reducing design and creativity to a service on par with plumbing and power supply. Danish architecture risks losing its strong international position if the role of architecture becomes a technical discipline within large engineering companies and other “full-service” providers. As a consequence, architects and PLH will no longer be able to do what they do best: provide holistic and personal advice using design and architecture to create sustainable solutions to our clients’ complex challenges.
PLH is not merely a service provider. Design is a fundamental value for PLH, and we passionately believe in the fact that design can change the world. We are a value-creating advisor, and our open and inclusive culture underpins our ability to realize our client’s visions and ambitions, and ultimately improve quality of life and overall wellbeing.
In the future, we foresee an even greater demand for the value creation that a pure design company like PLH can deliver. PLH is an independent, trusted advisor that collaborates across all parties. Our committed and talented employees critically synthesise this collaboration into creative design solutions that impact positively on people and strengthen our client’s identity. PLH’s future remains here.
