Carl Bäckstrand to be a special guest at the Design and Architecture Forum during the Budma 2026 trade fair
Carl Bäckstrand is a senior architect and Deputy CEO at White Arkitekter – one of the largest and most renowned Scandinavian architectural practices, recognized for its pioneering approach to sustainable architecture, urban planning, and public space design.
Founded in 1951 in Sweden, the company operates under an employee-owned model, which strengthens its culture of shared responsibility, innovation, and long-term thinking. The practice is regarded as a thought leader in ecological construction and the urbanism of the future, known for integrating research, knowledge, and practical application at every stage of the design process. White Arkitekter promotes ambitious environmental goals, including the aim of creating climate-neutral cities by 2030.
Over the past ten years, Carl Bäckstrand has overseen the development of White Arkitekter’s international strategy, focusing on scaling operations through effective knowledge management and the delivery of high-value projects. A significant part of the firm’s portfolio results from winning architectural competitions, such as the new hospital project in Tübingen. In projects carried out outside Scandinavia, close collaboration with local architectural practices is a key component of the operational model—from the competition phase through to on-site construction oversight.
Carl holds a master’s degree in architecture from Lund University and further expanded his expertise in landscape architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, followed by urban design studies as a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (MA). This diverse academic background enables him to effectively integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines and to navigate different geographic contexts with ease.
As a former board member and co-chair of institutions such as the ARQ Research Foundation and the Van Alen International Council, Carl actively supports the advancement of practice-based research and innovative architectural initiatives. He regularly represents the profession as a speaker and panelist at leading industry events, including the Venice Architecture Biennale and the COP conference in Glasgow.
In the past five years, his work within the ACE Executive Board has focused primarily on sustainable architecture. Currently, as the President of ACE, he represents the organization at major international forums, such as the RAIC Congress in Vancouver, the Affordable Housing Summit in Copenhagen, and the Decarbonizing Architecture conference in Barcelona.
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