rearc institute

Who We Are

We believe that people have the agency to challenge and transform the systems that shape their lives and environments. Architecture and design can return those decisions to the communities they most impact.

Fundación Organizmo, Tenjo, Cundinamarca

The climate crisis is embedded in the very decisions that determine who gets to use land, who has access to clean water, and how the places we inhabit are cared for. To reimagine the way we inhabit our world is to insist that the conditions of the present are not immutable or fixed.

Architectures of planetary well-being—our framework for acknowledging the critical interdependence of our social and ecological systems—recognizes that transformation does not come from any one breakthrough. It accumulates over the course of many actions and choices—choices of power, of care, and of who gets to mold place and how.

How We Work

rearc institute funds projects and organizations opening up new narratives in the built environment and developing solutions that reshape how we design and build in support of planetary well-being.

Material Cultures, London, United Kingdom

We bring together leaders, organizers, architects, designers, and educators to catalyze community-led design that advances climate justice, shifts architecture and construction best practice to respond to community needs with participatory processes, and expands public understanding of architecture's role in the climate crisis. 

Our grants support community‑led work on an invitational basis. We foster relationships through our research and ongoing dialogue with practitioners, communities, and leaders operating at the intersection of architecture and climate action. We initiate partnerships and projects twice a year based on our strategic priorities. Although we currently have no open call, if you have a project you are excited to work on with us, we welcome you to get in touch.

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, rearc institute operates globally as a non-profit philanthropic association, with support from the Inter IKEA Foundation.

Impact Areas:

Across three impact areas, our partners develop creative solutions with their communities, from design and construction prototypes to new education programs and diverse coalitions.

Decisions about how land is accessed, used, and owned directly structure the resilience of frontline communities. We support residents, local leaders, and organizers in designing environmental conservation efforts that strengthen decision-making power and self-determination of their communities.

The built environment is not peripheral to the climate crisis; it is deeply intertwined with it. Our work supports the design and prototyping of sustainable building processes, techniques, and materials, as well as education programs that develop these skills. We advocate for more responsive public policies and building codes that facilitate other ways of doing architecture.

Healthy landscapes and waterways are living infrastructures that protect biodiversity, strengthen water security, and reduce flooding. We support regenerative community-led design and planning solutions that transform public spaces through land restoration and watershed stewardship.

1

Collective Stewardship

Decisions about how land is accessed, used, and owned directly structure the resilience of frontline communities. We support residents, local leaders, and organizers in designing environmental conservation efforts that strengthen decision-making power and self-determination of their communities.

2

Alternative Materials

The built environment is not peripheral to the climate crisis; it is deeply intertwined with it. Our work supports the design and prototyping of sustainable building processes, techniques, and materials, as well as education programs that develop these skills. We advocate for more responsive public policies and building codes that facilitate other ways of doing architecture.

3

Regenerative Infrastructures

Healthy landscapes and waterways are living infrastructures that protect biodiversity, strengthen water security, and reduce flooding. We support regenerative community-led design and planning solutions that transform public spaces through land restoration and watershed stewardship.

Our Team

Chief Executive Officer Rikke Krog Hjortborg
Chief Creative Officer Alice Grandoit-Šutka
Collective Stewardship Director Sobia Kapadia
Alternative Materials Director Julian Rose
Regenerative Infrastructures Director Vanessa Duarte
Partner Lead, Collective Stewardship Elvira Restrepo Angel
Partner Lead, Regenerative Infrastructures Jennie Björstad
Partner Lead, Regenerative Infrastructures Jose Cepero
Partner Lead, Alternative Materials Sabina García
Impact Storytelling Lead Isabel Flower
Communications Lead Brendan Kelly
Process & Tools Manager Marcela Teran