Norway

Far-out Voices presents a selective insight into the pioneering, counter-cultural origins of what we today call green design. Organized around a series of oral histories (filmed interviews) collected by Caroline Maniaque-Benton in 2002, the exhibition offers a point of entry into the thinking of some of the advocates of “sustainable” planning within the alternative architecture movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, together with LOOP Architects, COWI Denmark and Norway, Transsolar Energitechnik and Vugge til Vugge Denmark, has won the Nordic Build Challenge in Norway with their innovative scheme, Urban Mountain. The winning proposal, which would be Norway's tallest building, seeks to refurbish and extend an existing 50,000 square-meter office tower in central Oslo into 79,000 square-meter sustainable icon. Not only would the building be the first Norwegian high-rise to utilize natural ventilation, but the design would employ Cradle to Cradle principles and BREEAM Outstanding certification targets to significantly reduce the building’s energy consumption and CO2 footprint.

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The Oslo Architecture Triennale is the Nordic region’s biggest architecture festival. Through exhibitions, conferences, debates, competitions, publications and events in different formats and media, OAT seeks to challenge the field of architecture and urbanism, as well as to engage, inspire and raise awareness among the public and decision-makers. The Triennale tackles issues with local, regional and global relevance.

This year's main exhibition, Behind the Green Door, opens September 19. For the past year, the Belgian curators Rotor have collected over 600 objects, all carrying claims of sustainability, from over 200 architecture offices, companies and environmental organizations across the world. Together these objects form a collection of curiosities, exhibited at DogA until December 1st, 2013.

The main conference of the Triennale will take place on September 29th, and under the title "The Future of Comfort" will discuss how the importance of sustainability is challenging our idea of confort and how architects enter this debate. Speakers include Carolyn Steel (architect and writer), Alfredo Brillembourg (architect, Urban Think Tank), Minik Rosing (professor of geology), Chris Reed (teacher of landscape urbanism at the GSD), and Dominic Balmforth (Susturb, danish office).

We are going to show you more about the Triennale, the curators and the projects in future articles, including videos and interviews. 

More information on the main exhibition, complete program, and locations after the break.

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With a unique, prominent position in the urban landscape of Oslo, the Tryvann Tower is an existing TV transmission tower high up on the forested hills surrounding the city. Launching the idea of developing a new Tryvann Tower, MAD Arkitekter envisioned a tower with an elegant and bold design, placed in the same position as today’s tower. The new Tryvann Tower would be both higher and more spacious, giving increased room for a public program. More images and architects’ description after the break.

MAD Arkitekter, in collaboration with developer Entra, have developed a project for the relocation of the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Law. The project site and the historical university buildings are on opposite sides of the urban square, Tullinløkka, and a historical building on the site will also be preserved. The new university buildings for UIO are given a compact form, with frontage towards Tullinløkka as well as an iconic expression which takes a position in the cityscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Developed by architects AHA+ and Solbjor Arkitekter, their 'Harvest' proposal was announced as one of the four finalists in the international competition Nordic Built Challenge for an extension of Postgirobygget, an existing high-rise building in Oslo. Going beyond BG14 and the refurbishment of Posthuset, their concept aims at becoming a new and innovative way to meet the challenges of tomorrow while ensuring financial and practical viability. More images and architects' description after the break.

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