Paraply was founded by Emil Hvelplund and Valentin Abend, who studied and worked together in Switzerland and New York. The workshop is organised with Rebecca Stenz, Jakob Ravn Abildgaard, Tobias Rasmussen, and Samuel Causse, who studied together at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen.
AboutThe idea for the workshop was sewn in 2021, when Valentin Abend and Emil Hvelplund began teaching at Parsons School of Design in New York and the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen respectively. Their dialogue identified an opportunity to bring environmental questions and architectural formation together in a critical and constuctive format.
The program was informed by Emil’s film course, art work, and studio teaching, and Valentin’s Sustainable Systems course, climate advocacy, and communnity organising. Rebecca Stenz, Jakob Ravn Abildgaard, Tobias Rasmussen, and Samuel Causse bring their skills and knowledge to the program. With a broader network of architects, artists, and designers aligned with topics and values, the workshop comes together with an emphasis on collective experience. Each year, we welcome 50 participants from around the world, along with 3 workshop leaders, and 4 guest lecturers for 8-10 days in the Copenhagen summer.
Paraply"Paraply" comes from French parapluie, which combines Latin roots: para- ("against/shielding") from parare ("to shield/prepare") and pluie ("rain") from Latin pluvia ("rain"), essentially meaning "against rain" or "rain-shield," adopted into Scandinavian languages from French.
Metaphorically, the umbrella loosely covers a range of topics. Physically, the construction of the object is minimal and essential, able to unfold and expand into a portable shelter from the weather. An everyday object itself, it is easily forgotten. Interested in the ambiguity between space, shelter, structure, assembly, and design, we approach the summer workshop as a canopy under which mistakes are encouraged and subject silos dissolve.
The workshop is supported by the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation.
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Paraply, www.paraplyschool.com, paraplyschool(at)gmail.com, @paraply. © 2026, Paraply School. All rights reserved. Photography by Samuel Causse.