The ecological crisis is only one of the results of a global systemic crisis: uneven global and local development, increasing inequalities and living conditions, displacement and migration. There is a necessity for a broad understanding of the complex economic, political, social, and environmental forces that influence urban and rural development and transformation today, as well as an urgent need for holistic, interdisciplinary and experimental approaches to address these challenges and opportunities in urban planning and architecture.

The point of departure of the Architecture and Design Laboratory is to understand architecture and the city as a dynamic system and the design process as a field of research. The aim is to develop alternative strategies and ways to operate and catalyse change within global transformations affecting urban and rural areas today.

The studio will explore in the spring 2023 the notion of Commons – spaces and resources that are “held in common”. The commons have traditionally been defined in terms of forests, water, the atmosphere, fisheries or grazing land – resources that are shared, used and enjoyed by “all” or a collective. Today, the “commons” is also understood as cultural resources – information, literature, music, arts, design, film, radio, software and sites of heritage. For centuries there have been struggles over what is to be defined and practiced as “commons” and what is to become private or public property. Currently such struggles can be seen over natural and digital resources but also over urban spaces manifested in movements around community gardens, sharing of land, alternative forms of ownership and co-creation of spaces.

The aim is: to reflect, understand and design spaces in relation to the current climate crisis.

Programme: Space of Commons
The students will work individually and in groups, developing proposals for a Space of Commons: Infrastructure / Park / Buildings.
Considering spaces of social interaction for and from the community, aiming to create alternatives for a common multi-species ground in the city, towards a socio-ecological future.

Site: We will explore a site in-between: Water and Land // Global and Local // Seoul and Oslo

The semester is organized in three parts where projects are developed with the following progression:

A Research/ mapping
B Scenarios, strategies and programme
C Spatial resolutions/ interventions/ projects