OAT 2019 - Open Call - Oslo

The Architecture of Degrowth: An open call
The engine of contemporary architectural production, and the basis of societies around the world, is economic growth. Global political orthodoxy declares GDP growth is always good; that more is more. Throughout the last two centuries increased economic growth brought with it many measures of prosperity, but for many decades now the limits to growth have been visible on the horizon. Social equity, health and wellbeing, quality of life, happiness and other non-monetary measures of success are faltering while resource extraction, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and toxicity, temperatures, sea levels, extreme weather, and many such indicators of climate breakdown make clear daily that the time of this worldview is running out. The next Oslo Architecture Triennale will challenge the supremacy of economic growth and investigate the architecture of alternatives. The festival will explore the buildings, spaces and institutions of a new culture in which economic growth is no longer the basis of societies. The curators have launched this open call inviting architects, urban practitioners, activists, novelists, artists, researchers and citizens to explore the architecture of a new economy in which human and ecological flourishing matter most – the architecture of degrowth.

Institutions of sharing
During the ten-week programme of the Triennale, Oslo’s National Museum of Architecture will undergo a transformation from a gallery of architecture past and present to a library of architectural futures. For centuries, libraries have provided the spatial infrastructure for sharing knowledge, ideas, stories and entertainment freely and widely. As such, libraries play a central role in breaking free from the growth paradigm. The Triennale library will comprise artefacts and installations exploring the architecture of degrowth from multiple perspectives. Drawings, models, materials, artefacts, devices and ideas will be collected and catalogued, and some made available to library members to borrow and use. The library will be a space to linger and learn, a repository of useful and beautiful objects exploring the architecture of a Degrowth economy to be critiqued, measured, studied and enjoyed. This open call invites individuals and multi-disciplinary teams to propose exhibitive, performative and physical submissions that explore the architecture of degrowth in the context of the new library’s collections and facilities.