Forum of innovative entrepreneurship
Narvik, Norway

Narvik is a small town in the far north of Norway aiming to emancipate from its monotonous life as cargo port for the close Swedish iron mines. The “Forum” object of the competition is intended to be a common house for startups and university research groups promoting the diversification of the local business. In our entry, one of the buildings already present on the project site has been preserved and reconfigured to house the student dorm and some offices of the municipality to be relocated. The remaining functions, dedicated to the showcasing of research and innovative business, have been envisioned as an archipelago of glazed boxes distributed in a wide subterranean hall illuminated from above by iconic skylights. Above, a public terrace openly accessible from the main road; beneath, a wide event hall, working as indoor “piazza” in the arctic winters, surrounded by the vibrant activities of the 2.0 Narvik.