Inspiration

We are a diverse team of unique minds, each with interesting backgrounds, passions, and cultural insights. We love sharing the things we stumble upon—articles, ideas, artwork, or anything else that sparks our curiosity and fuels our creativity. This is a space for curious souls, a collection of what inspires us and help us think outside the proverbial box.

The name not a box itself comes from Antoinette Portis’ wonderful book of the same name. If we dare to step outside our preconceived notions and existing systems of logic, we can imagine entirely new worlds. That, in a sense, is what we at NAB are all about.

Explore what informs our world below. And let us know if there is anything exciting we should know about.

  • A guide to pour over coffee by Coffee Collective

    We take pride in offering our guests the very best coffee - and knowing how to make it (link)

  • All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

    Adam Curtis’ mind bending BBC documentaries are unlike anything else (link)

  • Aramis, or the Love of Technology

    A one-of-a-kind novel by Bruno Latour on the social life of large-scale projects (link)

  • Bloom Festival

    A forward-thinking festival on science and nature arranged by our neighbours ADBC (link)

  • The Care Manifesto

    A clear-eyed view on the transformative potential of care and joy in society (link)

  • Connective Social Infrastructure

    Forward-thinking practical and analytical approaches to community wellbeing (link)

  • Dan Stockholm

    An artist whose inspiring work we are proud to feature on our walls (link)

  • Danske Dagsommerfugle

    (In Danish) A beautiful book about one of nature’s most ephemeral creatures (link)

  • Does Neanderthal DNA put a ceiling on Out of Africa?

    Prehistoric archaeology and genetics (yes!) at its most touching and thought-provoking (link)

  • Elmgreen & Dragset

    A Danish-Norwegian artistic partnership with works on shifting perspectives and identity (link)

  • Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting

    An interdisciplinary exploration of experience and identity as shared practice (link)

  • Exterminate All the Brutes

    A scathing and eye-opening take on the roots of European racism. A must read! (link)

  • God by - kort fortalt

    (In Danish) 24 core tenets of Jan Gehl’s visionary work on architecture and city planning (link)

  • Gopler Ældes Baglæns

    (In Danish) A romp through the quest for eternal life - and the science behind it (link)

  • Hauptpost Basel - a hidden river

    A historic Basel landmark brought to life - uncovering the river that shaped the city (link)

  • Health is made at home, hospitals are for repairs

    A visionary take on the future of community-based health care by Nigel Crisp (link)

  • How Big Things Get Done

    Bent Flyvbjerg’s eye-opening introduction to how visions come to life (link)

  • The Hour of the Predator

    Giuliano da Empoli’s thought-provoking essay on modern power politics (link)

  • Hvordan er det at være en plante? – Michael Broberg Palmgren

    (In Danish) An exploration of the inner life of plants by one of DK’s foremost botanists (link)

  • Hyperpolitik

    A concise introduction to politics in the age of TikTok and MAGA (link to review in Danish)

  • Inden Året er Omme

    (In Danish) A touchingly personal exploration of nature through butterflies (review in Danish)

  • Integrationen af psykiatri og somatik kræver nytænkning

    (In Danish) An editorial on the integration of somatic and psychiatric care (link)

  • Is good policy unimplementable?

    Ethnographic reflections on public policy formulation and implementation (link)

  • Jordbo

    A newsletter (in Danish) with thoughts on science, aesthetics and care (link)

  • Kathy Willis - Good Nature

    An exploration of how interactions with nature can dramatically improve physical health (link)

  • KLIT (Dune)

    An ingenious work of landscape art - a coastal landscape in the middle of a city (link)

  • Lindrende Ord - Lad os tale om døden

    (In Danish) A thought-provoking anthology on death and loss as a fact of life (link to review)

  • Nasjonal livskvalitetsstrategi

    (In Norwegian) A strategy for the integration of quality of life in modern health care (link)

  • National strategi for Life Science

    (In Danish) A national strategy for Life Science as a prioritized sector (link)

  • No Access

    An illuminating anthology on exclusionary practices in social space and city planning (link)

  • Ragnar Kjartansson

    An artist with incredible range whose 2023 exhibition at Louisiana has stayed with us (link)

  • Rappernes Bogklub

    (In Danish) A brilliant and refreshing take on literature by some of DK’s best rappers (link)

  • REHAB - Basel

    Conceptually one of the most forward-thinking health care facilities in the world (link)

  • Rumsans

    (In Danish) A website on social sustainability and universal design in architecture (link)

  • Shark Drunk

    Part natural history, part field trip, part poetic reflections on (human) nature. A modern classic (link)

  • Smellscape Catalogue

    Digital library on the too-often overlooked aspect of smells in design (link)

  • Staying with the trouble

    A scathing, multi-species perspective on an ecologically devastated Earth (link)

  • Things Fall Apart

    As Nelson Mandela put it - 'The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down' (link)

  • Thiemers Magasin

    A fantastic book store in one of Copenhagen’s cosiest streets - next to our friends CAN (link)

  • Ursula Le Guin - Daodejing

    Le Guin’s poetic translation of Lao Tzu’s masterpiece of natural philosophy (link)