TimeSpace Share

At any given time our cities are filled with empty spaces. This is a waste of resources, unsustainable and diminishes the quality of urban life. Cities like Oslo will experience greater population densities in the future. Climate change and fossil fuel depletion will result in fewer resources for new buildings and in greater numbers of people per area of built space. This will promote efficiencies of infrastructure and area use. It also gives rise to greater time-efficiency and the concept of TimeSpace Share: Utilising buildings to their full potential in the fourth dimension.

With TimeSpace Share a space will have different users and/ or activities taking place over the course of a day/week/month. The idea brings with it both challenges and new opportunities relating to how we design, organise and use built space.

TimeSpace Share implies a reading of space as a resource with much greater value than is common today. Looking to other cultures we may see space conceptualised as dynamic and flowing, encouraging unexpected interactions and juxtapositions. This breaks with the Modern tradition where space has been zoned and privatised, and functions isolated from one another.

The exhibition will be an example of TimeSpace Share applied to one or more spaces in Oslo - ideally spaces which are underused, temporarily empty and normally used for another activity than exhibitions, for example an empty office or backyard. The aim of the exhibition is to encourage visitors to rethink how existing spaces can be used for changing activities over time. By inviting them to an informal game of 'What if..?' they are encouraged to imagine, create and engage in various activities, e.g. what if this space is used as a noodle bar? What if this space is a theatre stage and I am Hamlet? What if ...?

The whole exhibition space will be the arena for the visitors' activities. This prevents a split between doers and observers; it encourages occupation of the space, and prevents visitors from feeling inhibited. It may also force people moving around to cross occupied zones thereby encouraging a multitude of interactions. As props for the 'What if' game, a range of everyday objects will be available: furniture, storage boxes, mattresses, an electric kettle, instant noodles, books, ping pong rackets, cycle helmets etc.