The Spiral Model
Personal theory and working method for urban development
by Anna Krenz
The Spiral Model is a conceptual framework that I have been developing through years of artistic, architectural and historical work. I have been working with this theory for years in different contexts and consider it a central axis of my current and future projects.
In contrast to popular ideas such as the Circular Economy/Development, this model introduces the third dimension (XYZ) and fourth dimension – time – to urban thinking. It sees urban and social development not as circular, but as spiral: layered, evolving, and historically embedded. The fourth dimension - time - is the past and the future. Cities grow in time, they have their history and heritage. Cities have a future, which we can create, for better or for worse.
In contrast to top-down masterplans or static monuments, the Spiral Model advocates for an organic, intuitive and feminist approach to space, storytelling and design. It allows for interruptions, returns, gaps, and growth — just like human experience. It connects past with present and future through affect, embodiment, and collective memory.
I see the Spiral Model not only as a way of working — but as a political gesture. It challenges patriarchal and colonial approaches to history and space. It invites openness, doubt, connection and imagination. Merging architecture, energy ethics, and feminist memory, it advocates for compact, regenerative cities that remember — places where time, history, and care shape spatial futures.
It spirals, not conquers.
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The Spiral Model introduces a conceptual and spatial framework for urban development inspired by natural, decentralised, and temporal growth. As an alternative to linear or circular planning paradigms, the model is based on the geometry of the four-dimensional spiral — integrating time as an active dimension of spatial design. Rather than repeating closed cycles or prioritising acceleration, spiral-based development acknowledges historical layering, transformation, and the importance of memory in shaping urban form.
Drawing on the biological structure of lichen — a composite, symbiotic organism — the Spiral Model operates at the intersection of ecology, feminist spatial theory, renewable energy, and urbanism. This living metaphor suggests interdependence, slowness, adaptability, and collective resilience, offering an alternative blueprint to top-down, growth-driven planning models.
The framework is informed by ongoing research into the Compact City model and critical urban theory, as well as by comparative analyses of urban sprawl phenomena across Europe and North America. In particular, it responds to the consequences of destructive, speculative developments — such as “strip-field” suburbanisation in Central Europe or profit-oriented urban expansion by global investment actors. These recurring patterns illustrate the systemic failure to integrate cultural, historical, and ecological learning into spatial planning.
Applied to the Compact City model, the Spiral Model introduces a deeper, more layered understanding of density — one that incorporates not only spatial and ecological compactness, but also temporal and cultural depth. It critiques emerging paradigms such as the “15-minute city” which, despite aiming for accessibility, are often structured around capitalist metrics of efficiency, speed, and convenience. Spiral urbanism instead emphasises the value of proximity, intensity, and historical consciousness.
A key extension of the Spiral Model lies in the field of renewable energy infrastructure. Referencing the development of modern wind turbines in Northern Jutland — notably through the work of the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy — the model highlights the importance of decentralised, community-led solutions to energy transition. These case studies exemplify how technological advancement can emerge from grassroots knowledge systems, embedded in landscape and local agency.
The Spiral Model also incorporates a feminist perspective by foregrounding decentralisation, care, and the recovery of erased or marginalised narratives. It treats herstories — particularly those of women in relation to place — as critical components of spatial continuity and regeneration. These principles are translated through methodologies such as memory mapping, site-based visual interventions, and storytelling in the urban realm.
As both a theoretical proposition and a practical methodology, the Spiral Model can be applied across disciplines: from urban planning, architecture and design, to cultural production, and sustainability research. It invites an approach to urbanism grounded not in acceleration or repetition, but in evolutionary continuity, reflection, and coexistence.
Anna Krenz
The concept was introduced in October 2024, at the "PoweringCitizens. Panel on Energy Democracy across Europe" conference in Berlin. The Spiral Model is a personal conceptual framework. I kindly ask that this idea be treated with intellectual respect.
