For the past years, the course Sustainable Architecture and Urban Studies has investigated the implications of the green shift on Norwegian cities, towns, and rural areas.

As with any paradigm shift, the focus on greener urban development enforces existing political conflict lines and makes them more apparent. The implementation of a new, green power industry is required for the country to reach its goal of reducing emissions by 55 percent within 2030; yet this typically collides with another international commitment, that of preserving vulnerable nature. Urban living in larger cities has been proven more sustainable due to the minimized transport needs; yet at the same time we need to safeguard communities in the country’s periphery that maintain more traditional ways of living.

The intention of the course Sustainable Architecture and Urban Studies is to study the issues and potential conflicts that arise as the country is changing, and more importantly: to dare to discuss them through architectural proposals.

In Flekkefjord, we looked at how the city could handle a growth of 2000 skilled workers, if a new battery factory was placed in nearby Lista. In Beitostølen, we looked at how the the town could increase the number of tourists while preserving vulnerable nature. In Gjersrud Stensrud, we investigated how new forms of autonomous public transport could facilitate 10,000 new homes in a way that also maintained as much virgin land as possible. In Horten, we looked at how the city itself could absorb the need for new holiday homes in the Oslo Fjord and be revitalized through new jobs and activities in the city centre. In Grorud, we studied how housing areas could be planned to implement new knowledge about sustainable urban freight, limiting the need for large scale transport within a neighbourhood.

 Each semester, we choose a new site and a new theme, typical of the challenges Norway faces in the near future. We develop proposals that are defined by a clear strategic purpose on a regional level, a defined building program that is in actual, realistic demand, a rational, sustainable, and economic means of construction, and a seductive public image. Our role as architects is to bring these things into a higher unity: our aim is therefore to develop strategic building projects that can also serve as exemplars for a new "aesthetics of sustainability".

This semester, we will continue our collaboration with Bane NOR Eiendom, a subsidiary of Bane NOR, the government agency that owns and operates the Norwegian railway network. Bane NOR Eiendom is in possession of all Norwegian railway stations, and is responsible for the development of a large amount of real estate throughout Norway. The course is a collaboration between the Institute of Urbanism and Landscape and the Institute of Architecture.