Territorial Practice workshop in Tromsø

(photo: http://70n.blogspot.com/)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a very good workshop at The Arctic

Frontier Conference. It was held at the University of Tromsø. The workshop

was called Territorial Practices and was organized by Janike Kampevold Larsen from AHO (Oslo´s School of Architecture and Design) and Gisle Løkken from 70°N Arkitektur (the architecture office where I work).

The conference focused on a ”critical perspective on practices shaping the landscapes of the high and arctic North” and aimed to ”demonstrate the significance of architectural logics, explorations and concepts for social development” of the arctic North. There were around 15 speakers from different fields who talked about: Colliding Landscapes, Landscape Practice, Infrastructural Landscapes and Reinventing Mapping Practices.

I was also very happy to hear that Oslo´s School of Architecture and Design is in the progress of establishing a Landscape Architecture Academy in Tromsø. The academy will offer a full studies program including Masters and PHD degrees with teachers of high international level who teach and work on research in the North and the Arctic.

I found this workshop very interesting and illuminating for me. It helped me understand the dire need of an architecture and design center in our region that would make interesting information like the one given at the workshop accessible to all, and not only to the group of people who were able to attend.

The research results and studies presented at the seminar I am sure are of interest not only to many of our specialist, but also to all of us living here in the north. The architecture and design center could not only circulate this kind of information but also simplify the technical language used so as to be easily understood by the general public.