The In Transit Studio

The In Transit Studio is a collaboration between AHO and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) / NORCAP. The ambition of the In Transit studio is to develop dignified, safe, innovative, and sustainable architectural solutions for people seeking sanctuary and their partner communities, and to contribute with new thinking and fresh approaches around the subject of displacement, urbanization and space. The goal of In Transit is to build capacity and educate future humanitarian architects and planners, ready to engage in the challenges of our time.

Background

Displacement in urban environments have resulted in a variety of transitional and improvised accommodation facilities, such as: empty warehouses, defunct airports, and post-production industrial buildings – examples of structures originally designed for other purposes that accommodating human beings.  With the intent of being used temporarily, such places have also been included in the official refugee reception system of highly-developed nations, while there is a need for more permanent, social and sustainable solutions.

Places for social interaction and recreation are rarely prioritized during a crisis, or in contexts with high numbers of displaced people, as housing - naturally, is always prioritized. But physical structures facilitating human interaction, form a crucial part of building inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable communities regardless of temporary or permanent uses.

This semester the studio will explore 1) how urban meeting places and social housing solutions may be integrated, and 2) how physical structures creates safe places, and lead to interaction, integration and cultural exchange - benefitting both the new arrivals and the host community in two different contexts, Norway and Greece.

Urban Integration, Case I: Holmlia, Norway

Holmlia is a neighborhood in Oslo, located in Søndre Nordstrand, the southernmost borough in Oslo. The area was planned and developed in the late 1970s and early 80s as part of a suburban social housing scheme dominated by low-rise apartment blocks developed by the Norwegian cooperative building association (OBOS) and The Norwegian State Housing Bank (Husbanken) Today Holmlia has a large immigration population and many new arrivals settles and wants to settle in the area.

Despite the housing schemes and an attractive location surrounded by forests and close to the ocean, and only a short train ride to the city center, the area has slowly deteriorated and become a place associated with crime, social inequality and a high degree of poverty.

But recently Holmlia’s many young resident have mobilized to change the situation, and several grassroots initiatives working to improve social and physical conditions have been established. We love Holmlia, Folkeaksjonen for Områdeløft for Søndre Nordstrand and Bærekraftig liv på Holmlia are just some examples of community-led initiatives, advocating for a safer neighborhood, urban upgrading and new meeting places. These initiatives have been so powerful that they have been able to move politicians to support the district with an area upgrading grant, known in Norwegian as “Områdeløft”.

The In Transit studio will collaborate with We love Holmlia and “Områdeløftet for Sønde Nordstrand” to develop projects that facilitates interaction, integration and cultural exchange between different demographics. Focusing on the need for social infrastructure and projects that change the narrative of fear into one of opportunity, to point out the potential for sustainable growth for communities hosting migrants and refugees. The projects produced in the studio will contribute in the on-going discussion on how to develop another, socially inclusive, safe and sustainable future for the young population of Holmlia.

Urban Integration, Case 2: Thessaloniki, Greece.

Record numbers of refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean at great peril to find safety in Europe. With border closures and the EU-Turkey statement the number of people entering Greece went down significantly from 2015. Yet, thousands of people are stranded.

In northern Greece, close to Thessaloniki, more than 13,000 people are still living under undignified conditions, in temporary facilities. This has led several humanitarian agencies to advocate for alternatives to ensure that refugees, and especially the most vulnerable, are provided with safe and dignified housing options. In collaboration with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and other humanitarian partners, the In Transit studio will design project proposals for housing solutions in the urban fabric as alternatives.

Study trip

The studio will travel to Thessaloniki where we will meet with different humanitarian partners, UN agencies, NGO´and other actors working in the city. The studio will focus on the urban context in one district of Thessaloniki and explore spatial and programmatic opportunities that consider both the needs of the new arrivals and the host community, and further develop projects that mix housing solutions with social infrastructure.