Proposal for the Asylum and Shelter Provision in Torshov, Oslo

Triennale Oslo, After Belonging, 2016, In Residence: Call For Intervention Strategies

The project will be the development of a large scale strategy, which allows refugees to conquer, ideally, parts of a territory, giving meaning to the concept of belonging.
Instead of passively accepting the benevolent hospitality of the people of Oslo, we ask the refugees to propose themselves actively as promoters and entrepreneurs of initiatives in the city, which can show the habits, the skills and the culture of migrants, being this the starting point to create new forms of business. At the same time we ask the people of Oslo to unclose the urban space of the city, in some defined places, to accommodate these ventures, leaving open the possibility that this calendar of events can help them discovering innovative economies, influencing habits and, finally, culture. It is a light strategy, which is not imposed from above but that comes from the consultation of the involved actors: like in a market (the symbol of exchange), one will offer skills, the other spaces, drawing from a sort of in progress catalog that will be made through discussions with the municipality, with refugees, with local associations and private citizens. The discussion will lead to the ideal match between event and place, which can be scheduled in the 2016 city program of events.
The strategy will be developed through six key moments, throughout the year, and will also require the commitment of citizens, who can offer equipment and voluntary work in the organization of events, showing the original version of a fruitful exchange.
During the Triennale, along with photographic and multimedia documentation produced during the event, a chair will be exhibited: on it some of the people who have participated or just enjoyed the project will sit on it during the day of the inauguration, telling the history of the project. The registration of these stories will enrich the exhibition in the National Museum-Architecture.

Credits
Type/Program: Urban Strategy – Mixed Functions
Client: Oslo Triennale
Year: 2015
Location: Oslo, Norway
Status: International call
Collaborators: Marco Belloni, Daniele Bonetti