Nominated for the Swedish Architects’ Critics’ Prize: three participants from OPI Lab 2023 – Johanna Fager, Nicole Cecilie Bitsch Pedersen and Jo Mikkel Sjaastad Huse for their project, Nya Lövholmen, developed during the course.
The jury’s motivation:
“Nya Lövholmen is a rare example of architects and artists initiating a public debate on urban development, not least when architectural criticism has been almost entirely relegated to the cultural pages of the newspapers. The project aims to reclaim power over the city from short-term business interests and casual populism by discussing the elusive content of a city, such as sounds, smells and tactile qualities. By inviting the public and taking advantage of Lövholmen’s existing history just outside Stockholm’s borders, a future is sketched with a shared vision that allows the city to regain the initiative in its transformation. “
The project took place within the framework of the Of Public Interest (OPI) Lab at the Department of Further Education and Research in Fine Arts and Architecture. The project was manifested through sound installations, imagined soundscapes and sonotope maps, a submitted citizen’s proposal with a proposed plan for an urban area, a community radio programme with simultaneous public collective listening session in a park, an absurd elevator pitch for an underground skyscraper for all humanity, handmade, site-specific magazines distributed monthly, models and a sound archive of sounds from Lövholmen.
From 5 March to 10 April, applications are open for next year’s Of Public Interest (OPI) Lab training course. Read more about the course and how to apply.