Happy birthday, Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida de Niemeyer Soares, 103 today!

(Copan and Memorial da América Latina: pics from our trip to Brazil some years ago)

70° julelunsj

Thanks to all the happy people for joining us for a christmas lunch, and enormous khab kun khaa to Noi for the excellent food and grazie mille Stefano for the best tiramisù ever!

Are there any alternatives?

Read this week's article by Gisle in Nordlys.

Photos: soil erosion in water and wind in the Øresund region, by Bengt Olle Nilsson

åpen klasse

What we see is not what is - as we move through a city, it is easy to believe that what we immediately perceive by our surroundings are true images, but the reality is not objective, and always depends on what we know and what background we have. As actors in the public sphere, we must therefore, develop methods to investigate the reality and to understand and work with the complexities of society. With knowledge about society structures and layers of information, we can work out projects that are relevant to the citizens, and also highlight particular groups in society that are not always given priority in a market-driven economy. With this principle, Magdalena Haggärde of 70°N arkitektur will present methods and studies she uses in her practice and teaching, and show examples of projects that make use of the marginal spaces and engage residents in the democratic processes that confront the question of who has the right to urban spaces and surfaces.

Tromsø Art Academy, Thursday 9 December at 19.00

muddy dummy

This week-end included a visit to Tromsø's newest gallery, 4235, and the 3rd year ArtAc students' vernissage for Dummy - a publication and exhibition. And excellent performance by Mudqueen and Cxzy.

Stockholm S

Folkungagatan/Götgatan + Östgötagatan + Mariatorget

We have spent some days in Stockholm, lecturing and meeting interesting people to plan interesting things.. more info soon.

Atlas interiors

The kindergartens are presented in Braun's Atlas of world interior design.

70°N@SA

Magdalena gives a lecture at Stockholms arkitektförening, Arkitekturskolan, Monday 15 November at 18.00.

OoO

These days we're a bit out of office.. Magdalena gives a lecture Thursday at KTH, Stockholm, while others are traveling eastern and western continents - more about that as soon as we get some reports.

Helen&Hard @ NAF

Helen&Hard will present their work, as the norwegian expo pavilion in Shanghai and Prekestolen tourist hotel, at a lecture organized by NAF at Kurant, 19.00 Thursday 11 November.

Jæren::Region

Magdalena is in Stavanger to participate and lecture at a conference about the future city and region development.

Tromsø-Ås

Gisle spends the day at Ås, discussing northern landscapes with the studio of Ola Bettum.

#9 - thank you!

Thanks to all of you for coming and participating at another PechaKucha Night!

PKN#9 // Polar Fokus - tonight!

If you would like to attend and haven't received this flyer by e-mail from 70°N please register here, if you're already on our mailing list please don't!

Accessibility vs Gated Community

Another article by Gisle was published in Nordlys this week-end.

Illustration:
One Nation under CCTV, Newman Street, London, by Banksy
Paraisópolis favela, Morumbi, São Paulo, photo by Tuca Vieira

element @ NAF

Element is a creative studio challenging the borders between architecture, design and art. They will present their work at a lecture organized by NAF at Kurant, 19.00 Tuesday 26 October.

PKN#9 - Polar Fokus!

PechaKucha Night #9 will take place at Kurant Wednesday 27 October, doors open at 19.30. This is a collaboration with the photo festival Polar Fokus, so all the presenters are photographers:
Thilo Bubek - animal life
Rudi Caeyers // polar experiences
Yngve Olsen Sæbbe // the bridge and the bay
Bård Grape // film project
Carl-Christian L. Størmer // on tour
Eirik Berger // svalbard pictures
Tromsø museum // cars and their owners
Mari Hildung
Reiner Schaufler // senja nature
Rebecca Kristensen // reflection
Tor Ivan Karlsen // polar pictures
Øyvind Ravna // reindeers in Kola

DJ Knut Bjørnar Ulriksen

If you don't already receive info e-mails and flyers directly from 70°N and would like to attend the event please register here, under enquiry (and vice versa, if you do receive our PKN mailings please don't register!)

settanta grados a Venezia

We are back from Venice and the biennale. We have hundreds of pics and impressions from these sweet venezian days, if we manage to sort them out a little we might put up a small report on the blog soon..

Grønlandske hus - Kalaallit illuat

A competition project from the archives, the Greenlandish house in Nuuk - made ten years ago with Bjørn Otto Braaten as an important part of the office, and this project:

Vi liker ikke å tenke på det. Det gjør ansvaret så stort. Og oppgaven nesten umulig. Likevel vet vi det jo alle.
Hus former våre liv.
Så gjør vi vårt beste. Med engasjement planlegger vi det gode liv. Slik det er for oss. Nitidig og nøyaktig får vi alt til å passe sammen. Vi husker det vi har lært.

Og glemmer kanskje det viktigste.
At det gode liv ikke kan planlegges.
Fordi det gode liv for meg er ikke det gode liv for deg.

Så kaster vi drømmen om det gode liv på båten, og argumenterer kaldt og nøkternt om basisfunksjoner, det nødvendige, om økonomi og produksjon. Det går fint. Vi tegner ett hus, to hus, tre, ti, tusen. Summen er overraskende nok ikke en husform, men en samfunnsform.
Det går ikke så fint lenger.

Vi må tilbake til å tenke på det vi ikke liker å tenke på.
At hus former våre liv.
Så må vi tenke på nytt.


Én plus én pluss én er én. To pluss fire pluss åtte er én. Summen av sammenstilte boliger er ikke flere hus, men et samfunn. Organiseringen og struktureringen av boligene er med på å definere det rommet vi er sammen om, -det offentlige rommet.

Stien som slynger seg mellom husene
Gata som følger knausenes bue
Plassen mellom de to husrekkene

Snakker vi om hus, er det alltid en planleggingsfeil hvis én pluss én pluss én er tre

seed for 2011

One of the projects for next year's Arkitekturens År 2011 is started. In collaboration with Botanisk Hage and Kristian Nyvoll the urban natur project met at Botanisk hage to collect seed. More about this and other ArkÅr2011 projects soon..

high north - high fashion

As the first snow is falling in Tromsø - this is what the fashion world proposes for the winter - we like!

BAS cruising

Deane Simpson and his master studio students from BAS tied up at Prostneset. Gisle joined them at their Hurtigruten ship for a discussion on Tromsø and the studio theme: tourism.

go goa

Professor Henrietta Palmer and teacher Michael Dudley with their students from Stockhom Art Academy post graduate course Advances Studies in Urbanism - Resources. 10 Bio-topical: Goa visited Tromsø last week. After seeing Steinsvik's I-box, and our projects at Strandkanten and Brinken, we finished the day with a lecture and discussion based on our projects Mosaïc::Region, Nordhavnen and Maniitsoq - and the search for planning tools that can work with complexity, openness and unknown futures.
We hope to hear from them again, when their research and publication are taking shape.. interesting people with an interesting project.

PKN#8 - thanks!

Thanks to all the presenters, Kurant, the organizing team and to all of you for coming and sharing a really nice PechaKucha Night with us!

PKN#8!

PechaKucha Night Tromsø invites you to PKN#8! We are happy to announce our collaboration with Kurant, which is our new venue.


















We are proud to announce the list of presenters at PechaKucha Night Tromsø #8:

Line Dolmen + Geir Backe Altern + Kåre Grundvåg // artists/gallerists // Kurant
Amund Schweder // architect
Jonas Eilertsen // politician/board leader // Studentsamskipnaden
Tove Marienborg // md/geologist // NordNorsk Vitensenter
Eivind Austad // chef // Vulkana
Morten Skandfer // dr/researcher
Kristian Nyvoll // gardener/researcher // Botanisk hage
Hege Pålsrud // scenographer // Pålsrud prosjekt
Rudi Caeyers // photographer
Morten Wintervold + Sigbjørn Skåden // authors/artistic board // Ordkalotten

+DJ Maximo!

Thursday 23 September at 19.30 the doors will open at Kurant (Søndre Tollbodgate 17, close to Skansen and Verftet) - and PechaKucha Night Tromsø #8 will take place - welcome!

Maniitsoq - anguniakkat periarfissallu Maniitsoq - visions and possibilities

We have recently come to a culmination and a preliminary conclusion of our one-year engagement in Greenland - resulting in a vision report, an exhibition, presentations and discussions with inhabitants and politicians.

XL-L-M-S Greenland

XL - Greenland is confronting great changes and upheavals. From being a huge icecap in a remote corner of the world – Greenland has become the world’s most urgent icon for climate-changes. At the same time, Greenland is facing a possible exploitation of oil, gas and hydropower, and new industrialisation from aluminium-plants and mining. New sources of income might mean economical independence from Denmark, but also a significant impact on the landscape – a paradigmatic shift from natural landscapes to industrial landscapes – a shift with no return.

L – Maniitsoq is a mid-size Greenlandic city with, approx. 2800 inhabitants. Because of its strategic location regarding hydropower, the city is designated as site for Alcoa’s aluminium production in Greenland. Alcoa in Maniitsoq means doubling the city’s number of inhabitants. Maniitsoq is a city in recession, and Alcoa means hope for a prosperous future for the municipality. 70°N were invited by Qeqqata Kommunia to help preparing Maniitsoq for possible futures – in a broad span of scenarios, from rapid expansion to a continuation without aluminium. All based on strategies for preparing the landscape for changes - on natural and social sustainability, densification, housing standard, typologies, infrastructure and for transformation of the city and the landscape.

M – Greenlandic housing has always been characterized by typologies from Europe and Denmark that not necessarily have been appropriate for the landscape or the cultural context. There is an ongoing national debate on housing typologies and housing standards that is deeply reflected in the local discussion about Maniitsoq’s future. 70°N introduce the necessity for a higher architectural and technical standard on the housing stock, and the need for a more sustainable development of the municipality. Further, we introduce the possibility for renovating some of the old blocks into new and modern apartments – also as a strategy for resource saving where no more mistakes from the past should be made again.

S – In Maniitsoq the inhabitants and the municipality are highly committed in the processes concerning improvement and development of the place and the city. In a discussion of sustainable changes that regard the inhabitants and the landscape independently of Alcoa, we have discussed a ‘Point of Departure’ strategy, which can handle a vulnerable situation. This is a process of mapping and of being aware of existing qualities in the city. These ‘Points of Departure’ emphasize the qualities that are found, or become special locations to be developed into projects of subtle interest and importance for the city and the people in Maniitsoq.

See the exhibition in the Town Hall of Maniitsoq, Kuuttartoq B1077 – or see the pdf-report here.

Eriksen Skajaa @ NAF

Eriksen Skajaa is a young office that will present their work at a lecture organized by NAF at Kurant, 19.00 Thursday 16 September.

dynamics of agonism

A new article by Gisle was published in Nordlys Friday 10 September. This one is about the importance of constructive debate in the planning process.

Qanorooq - Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa

Our Maniitsoq report and exhibition are on the news - Qanorooq (skip the first two thirds of the transmission to get directly to this part of the programme, or watch it from the start to get news about Greenpeace and seal hunters as well).

prefabulous

The XBO is presented in the latest links publication - Prefabulous Architecture.

Kristian, Mo, Roberto, Gaute & Tone - the new architects!

Diploma students at BAS, now architects, made a great job this week-end presenting their projects - congratulations and good luck!

Greenland in August

qeqqata kommunia #3

Berit and Gisle have left for the third trip to Greenland. With them are the exhibition and the report we've been working on, which will be handed over in meetings with politicians and citizens this week. Pics and info soon!

workshop: one year of architecture

A message to you from the Northern Norway Architect Association:
I anledning av Norske Arkitekters Landsforbunds 100-årsjubileum er 2011 utpekt til Arkitekturens År. I tillegg til årets hovedarrangement i Oslo er det også ønskelig at lokalforeningene bidrar med arrangement rundt omkring i landet. For at vi skal få dette til kreves det engasjement fra medlemmene, og samarbeid med andre vil være en stor fordel.
Kurator for Arkitekturens År 2011 på nasjonalt nivå er 0047 og det overgripende temaet for året er ENDRINGSROM.
Vi i Nord-Norges Arkitektforening ønsker at vårt bidrag til jubileumsåret skal være mer enn isolerte hendelser rettet mot fagpersoner og spesielt interesserte. Gjennom et bredt samarbeid med andre organisasjoner og ressurspersoner ønsker vi å rette fokus på betydningen av våre romlige omgivelser, utvide forståelsen for hva arkitektur er, og nå ut til et større publikum.
For å komme videre med arbeidet ønsker vi DINE innspill og idéer.
Vi inviterer derfor DEG til en workshop der vi håper å samle interesserte personer og knytte kontakter.
Tromsø, torsdag 19. august kl. 18:00 - 21:00
Café des Beaux-Arts (Tromsø Kunstforening)
NAF

utopian consequences

Another of Gisle's articles for Nordlys is now available online: Utopi eller dystopi.

obra mínima

We just received Arquitectura Viva #140 - obra mínima which presents 50 small works, one of them is our view platform in Torvdalshalsen.

Lotus

The italian magazine Lotus publishes our bicycle space in an article about the national tourist routes.

summer updates

Mathias Kempton sent us some pictures from the Malmö exhibition and workshops earlier this summer.

Here are some other things that happened while we spent time elsewhere than on the internet:
-it is possible to see our and the other 18 concepts for small spaces at Victoria & Albert until the end of August
-Det store rum where we participate with an article on Points of Departure is now possible to download
-designboom published our national tourist routes projects.

le droit à la ville

If you have access to today's Nordlys newspaper (Friday 18 June) you can read another article by Gisle - this one is about the right to the city.

update: the text (in norwegian) is now available here.

WinD - As Found

World in Denmark is an annual research conference taking place in Copenhagen. This year we're here to present and discuss our paper Findings - using complexity as investigation tool: the plan as dynamic process.

Det store rum

We're in Copenhagen for the book release, Det store rum - a debate book where we participate with an article is published by Realdania. Links and info soon.







update: Det store rum is now possible to download here.

Malmö - City in Progress

We're in Malmö for the opening of the City in Progress exhibition at the Town Hall. Our studio City as Biotope at Bergen Architecture School is invited together with students from Alnarp and Lund to propose thinking and projects around themes as: rising sea level, integration and city growth. We thank Director of City Planning at Malmö Stad, Christer Larsson, for the invitation.

V&A small spaces

We are invited to participate in the Victoria & Albert exhibition 1:1 architects build small spaces with our concept Forever Forest / Endless Sea.

We're in London at the pre-première for the exhibition that will officially open 15 June and be on until 30 August.

20 selected architects from all over the world participate with concepts on the themes of: Cocoon / Womb, Dialogue / Collaboration, Escape / Retreat, Laboratory / Shed, Outside / Inside, Performance / Fiction, Playtime / Dreamspace, where the last one was ours to interpret.

This is (parts of) how curator Abraham Thomas described the exhibition in his invitation to us a year ago: At a time when the conception of architecture within the general public’s consciousness has come to be defined by large-scale, ambitious projects monopolised by a handful of internationally-focussed practices, this exhibition attempts to explore and celebrate a building strategy concerned with small-scale structures, singular design visions and a modesty of purpose.

Set amid the current economic and social climate which is rapidly developing in opposition to the recent trend for grandiose building schemes, this exhibition will explore a new agenda for design and construction which allows us to return to architecture as an ‘idea’, as a basic human need for shelter – a space for retreat and contemplation on a human scale. In the context of a cultural landscape ever more concerned with ‘appropriate design’, this exhibition aims to present examples of architecture pre-occupied with an aesthetic of quietness, combined with a renewed sense of function and instinctive purpose.

The architects will be encouraged to explore specific architectural and social typologies, each reflecting the intrinsic human need for modest, private spaces which can offer a vital refuge from everyday life. The exhibition will generate debate and discussion around the idea of creating personal space, and how we occupy this space both physically and emotionally. The structures will refer to historical and cultural precedents, whilst also reflecting contemporary examples of agile responses to such small-scale building strategies.

letter from le56 in 20th

Doina Petrescu, our friend at aaa, sends us some good news from the 20th arrondissement, to spread around us:

Dear friends,
You have visited, seen, published or just heard about our project Passage 56, St Blaise Paris which has recently been awarded a special mention within the European Prize for Public Space competition. www.publicspace.org

The project has been currently selected for another competition: Prix Grand Public des Architectures contemporaines de la Métropole Parisienne, which presents to the public opinia a selection of recent successful projects in Paris. The 56 is probably the ONLY bottom-up project in the selection, realised with very little money and the participation of inhabitants of the area who have gradually became users and managers of the space. We will be very happy if you can support the Passage 56 bid by voting (or/and commenting) on www.prixpublicarchi.com/espaces_publics/ by 30 June.

Many thanks for your support
aaa and Le56

what's on at 56: 56stblaiseactualites.wordpress.com/ photos: aaa/le56

NAF+SMAQ

The Northern Norway architect association invites to the annual meeting followed by the award cermony for the Northern Norway architecture award and a lecture by Sabine Müller of SMAQ, Berlin.
At Driv (3rd floor), Friday 11 June at 18.00

det store rum

The danish debate publication Det store rum will be released in June. The book is published by Realdania and contains several articles about regional planning, like Points of Departure - en kontinuerlig reformulering av planens mål og virkemidler by Gisle, co-written with Magdalena.

anybody home

Gisle has spent some days in Bergen again, tutoring diploma students. Several of our students from the autumn term's City as Biotope studio are now preparing their diplomas, and some of them are blogging about their work:
Tone's der er nogen hjemme brings us to the Greenlandish landscapes of Maniitsoq
Roberto's lines in the background looks for a new understanding Rosengård
Laura's urban development Bergen
Ragnhild's preconceptions of place and space
Herman's chaoticentity
Christian's støperiet
Tove Helen's Ålesund i fremtiden
Mo's Veterans' cultural centre
Gaute's Nye Bremnes ungdomsskule

kindergarten cover

Our kindergartens, including the newest ones, are presented in the latest issue of Arkitektur N.

BETRAYED BY NATURE / NEVER TRUST A PIONEER

Ane Elene Johansen
Anemarte Bjørnseth
Espen Justdal
Frank Ludvigsen
Geir Backe Altern
Heidi-Anett Haugen
Ida Walenius
Ingeborg A.K. Lindahl
Ingrid Forland
Line Solberg Dolmen
Margrethe Pettersen
Matilda Carlid
Vebjørn Guttormsgaard Mølberg
are the students from the Art Academy putting together the first diploma exhibition ever in Tromsø!
Saturday 15 May 2010 at 14.00 the exhibition BETRAYED BY NATURE / NEVER TRUST A PIONEER will open at Tromsø Kunstforening, there will be music, mingle, refreshments and of course art. Later in the evening, at 20.00, there will be a party at the café. If you are in Tromsø this is where you should be!

Sandu Strandkanten

Strandkanten is presented in the publication Conceptual Architecture by chinese Sandu Publishing.

letters from Monterrey

Our friend and former colleague Federico sends us letters from his home town Monterrey in Mexico. We have his permission to publish some of his thoughts on the sad reality of what is happening in his country right now. So, a couple of day after Cinco de Mayo we forward you these words on the battles of Mexico of today:

Things in Monterrey, believe it or not, have calmed down a bit, but I'm guessing it's because of the grey/rainy days that we're having, even criminals don't feel like going out as much. It's been like that for the last 2 weeks and it shows. No more street blockades (which I haven't seen any personally, and it is now reported that the ones blocking the streets are the same ones that protested back in February of 2009 when the military entered the city, AND they're being paid by the drug fractions about 20USD per day for men, and school supplies for mothers and children that participate.)

It is sad, very sad that this happens, add to that many of these people have lost their jobs and it shows that we have an unhealthy society, where the government does not satisfy the needs.
Our capacity to be amazed at certain violent acts has ceased to exist. All over Mexico the drug wars have made almost every mexican oblivious to the killings, as long as they're killing each other and not innocent people, like what happened at my school, believe it or not, 2 PhD students were killed not long ago. They were caught in the line of fire between military forces and the bad guys in an altercation that took place near one of the entrances of the school. The altercation was at 1am right outside one of the entrances to the school, the military started shooting, the bad guys shot back, the city police came and rescued the bad guys (yes that is the kind of police that we have here). That is a typical story of our judicial system, it is so corrupt that the only people you can semi-trust are the military forces. (They are taking care of kidnapping cases now too, because many policemen have been found were cooperating or are heads of kidnapping gangs).

The city runs almost at top speed, but you do see less people at night, our habits have changed, no stopping at night at convenience stores, shopping for food only at daytime. People are changing their cars to less luxury brands, or not upgrading their cars but rather keeping the one they have, etc. Too much information coming in, or none at all. This is how we live now, not in fear, but cautious all the time, where Monterrey used to be one of the safest cities in Mexico it has become a quite bizarre city. Areas of the city where nothing happened are safe no more, the most random shit, and i say that with all it connotates, happens now in Mexico, and some of these drug gang leaders I swear could could be taken out of ANY horror/suspense/gore/torture movie, it is a war after all, don't want to go into details but you get the idea. (Scare tactics to keep the population at bay)

We are learning to deal with it, it is not all bad news. It is just a matter of time I believe before things get better, it'll probably take years, but we're getting there, at least that's what we're hopeful for.

This is the latest report from Monterrey, people are getting tired of this and it is changing the country I believe, people are more honest in their general day by day activities, in part because you don't know who you are dealing with and in part because people are trying to show each other they they are NOT the bad guys.

But life must go on and we mexicans are quite resilient, we will not give ourselves in to being controlled by a mafia, drug lord, kidnapping gang, extorsion or whatever type of activities that these drug wars have created as parallel criminal activities. We still laugh, we haven't lost our sense of humor, people do want to go out, see their friends etc, house parties have become quite common in lieu of going out late. Again it has made us more cautious of our surroundings, it's like living in Mexico City in the 90's hehe.

I am optimistic and never down, and I believe the people of Mexico are not only wanting Mexico to be better, but they are actually working to make it better! All the best! Big Hugs from "La Ciudad de las Montañas"

kalaallit visit

Politicians and planners from Nuuk paid us a visit this week to see and study some arctic housing and infrastructure projects.

70°N by tank is a winner

Congratulations to our designer friends at tank who have received one of the world's finest packaging design awards, the dieline award, for their bottle 70°NORTH!
We like you, and we like the name - and of course the design - of your winning product!

prime magazine

Strandkanten in chinese Prime Magazine, we believe the theme of the issue is water..

70° in Ciudad Habana

Michele gives a lecture on the work of 70°N arkitektur at Fundación Ludwig i Habana, Wednesday April 7 at 14.00.

this is us

Here we are in the snow and the wind just outside the office some days ago. Michele has since left for Cuba, where she is going to give a series of lectures on norwegian design and architecture, and on the work of 70°N arkitektur. From left to right: Michele, Joar, Berit, Petra, Magdalena, little E, Gisle and Irene - who we are happy to have here working with us since January. photos by Karla, who is helping us with different things - including delicious lunches!

Exploring the high north 2

After an intensive week in Maniitsoq, we have now returned to Tromsø with a suitcase full of impressions and extended knowledge, ready for the second phase of our Greenland experience.

ILLOQARFIMMI ANGALAARNEQ!

March 4: City walk in Maniitsoq, conducted by Søren Lyberth and Finn Ellehave Petterson

INNUTTAASUNUT ATAATSIMIISITSINEQ!

March 3: Public meeting and workshops with the citizens of Maniitsoq.

the plan

In an article about eco sustainable strategies for the future Copenhagen the italian magazine the plan presents the three winning proposals for Nordhavnen including our Excentral Park - Edge Dynamics in their latest issue #039. The quite comprehensive nine spreads presentation of a Copenhagen to come includes several of the big urban developments under discussion or construction at the moment: Carlsberg, Sydhavn, Ørestad and Tuborg.

escuela infantil

The blog archkids notices our kindergartens.

PechaKucha for Haiti

The PechaKucha founders at Klein/Dytham in Tokyo have launched this admirable project of a Global PechaKucha Day for Haiti on February 20, including a presentation wave that will move through all time zones of the world - starting in Tokyo and the PechaKucha headquarter and ending in San Francisco where the Architecture for Humanity headquarter is located.
Tromsø don't have the possibility to join on this specific day but you will soon get info about our events to come.
Read more about PechaKucha for Haiti here.