Signe Kongebro (born 1972) is a Danish architect and educator. She is a partner at

Henning Larsen Architects Henning Larsen Architects is an international architectural firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1959 by Henning Larsen, it has around 750 employees. In 2008, it opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and in 2011, an office in Munich ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

where she heads the department for

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

Biography

Kongebro studied architecture at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

, graduating in 1999. In 2001, she joined Henning Larsen Architects, where, since 2007, she has been an associate partner and headed the firm's sustainability department. Her research has revealed the critical importance of daylight in architectural design, in view of its contribution to sustainability and energy efficiency. More generally, her research has centred on the importance of adopting a sustainable design approach to reduce energy consumption of buildings in operation. The book ''Design with knowledge'', edited by Kronebro, presents the results of research into design and energy consumption conducted by postgraduate engineers at the

Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...

. A key conclusion is that architects and engineers should collaborate closely in the building design process in order to apply recent developments in

climate and energy In the 21st century, the Earth's climate and its energy policy interact and their relationship is studied and governed by a variety of national and international institutions. The relationships between energy-resource depletion, climate change, ...

studies. Kronebro provides the following explanation:

Right from the introductory design phases, we need to ensure that a building does not use more energy than necessary. That is the cheapest way to minimise energy consumption and in the future it will be essential. Sustainability requirements are becoming stricter and these challenges cannot be met by means of technology alone.

Kongebro's work has revealed that 40 percent of a building's energy consumption depends on design. It can be halved if the necessary design criteria are applied from the start. As a result, sustainability has become a competitive factor for Henning Larsen Architects.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kongebro, Signe 1972 births Living people Danish architects Danish women architects Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni