A Van Alen Institute Flash Competition, in collaboration with the City of Malmö, White Arkitekter, Architects Sweden, Individuell Människohjälp, and Skanska
Van Alen Institute Media Contacts
Steven Thomson, sthomson@vanalen.org, 212.924.7000 x 12 Europe: Jerome Chou, jchou@vanalen.org, (41) 79 245 06 46
MALMÖ (Oct 11, 2016) – Van Alen Institute today launched Opportunity Space, an international design-build competition to support economic opportunity and social inclusion in Malmö, Sweden.
Responding to Europe’s migration crisis, Opportunity Space will install a temporary mobile structure in Malmö’s Enskifteshagen Park for two months to support education, job assistance, and social inclusion programs offered by government, business, and nonprofit partners. The winning team, to be announced in early December, will receive a $10,000 award and $25,000 to build their proposal.
Opportunity Space is the first in a new Van Alen Institute series of Flash Competitions: challenges that bring together multidisciplinary teams of designers and other experts for short, intense projects in cities around the world to take on urgent societal issues through design. Teams can find the competition brief and pre-register by November 7, 2016 on the project website. The competition deadline is November 18, 2016.
Opportunity Space will make vital services more visible and accessible to people who need them, and will bring new and established residents together. The project will establish a replicable process for engaging diverse stakeholders across sectors and disciplines to design more economically and socially inclusive neighborhoods and cities.
Malmö is the ideal city to explore these issues. It is a gateway city to Scandinavia, and is rapidly growing and diversifying. It was also the arrival city for the vast majority of refugees and asylum seekers settling in Sweden – up to 10,000 a week at its peak in autumn 2015.[1] As in many cities, Malmö’s residents face challenges finding work in today’s global economy. Analysts estimate that the average age at which Swedish residents find their first “real” job (for instance, one that would allow them to qualify for a mortgage) is 29, and that it takes new arrivals up to seven years before they are gainfully employed.[2]
Working closely with dozens of key stakeholders, Van Alen Institute has assembled a unique, cross-sector coalition of government, design, real estate, nonprofit, and community leaders to explore how the built environment can foster greater social and economic equity.
“Van Alen Institute Flash Competitions will demonstrate that design can make an immediate impact in the real world. We’re excited that our first Flash Competition, and our first competition that will result in a built project outside of the U.S., can engage local partners in Sweden to realize innovative ideas,” said Van Alen Institute Executive Director David van der Leer.
“We are thrilled to work together with Van Alen Institute and all local stakeholders on Opportunity Space,” said Christer Larsson, Director of the City of Malmö Planning Office. “Malmö is a dynamic, progressive city, and we are poised to create mutual learning and knowledge alliances that support more socially and economically sustainable neighborhoods in Malmö. This competition is one tool to achieve this.”
“White Arkitekter knows Malmö well and we know that there is both talent and conditions to create a project that contributes to a city where everyone can thrive. I’m convinced that Malmö will inspire other cities around the world,” said Monica von Schmalansee, White Arkitekter CEO.
“As a leading city developer in Malmö, we want to be part of finding ways to include people and reduce the gaps in society. This is a great pilot, and we are proud to contribute to the Opportunity Space challenge,” said Camilla Wieslander, Managing Director, Skanska Öresund.
“Participants in our volunteer groups for new arrivals have been involved in workshops during the planning phase of Opportunity Space and we look forward to assisting in the project as it brings new arrivals and established residents together,” said Martin Nihlgård, Head of Individuell Människohjälp Sweden.
Opportunity Space invites international, multidisciplinary teams of designers, economic development experts, sociologists, community organizers, and others to submit their ideas. Focusing on two sites – a well-used public park and an underused industrial building – in a rapidly changing district of Malmö, teams will have roughly five weeks to propose their interventions.
About Van Alen Institute
At Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives. We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow. Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross-disciplinary research, provocative public programs, and inventive design competitions.
About White Arkitekter
White Arkitekter was founded by Sidney White in 1951 and is Scandinavia’s leading architectural firm with over 900 employees working in 16 offices in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the UK. Our work is research focused and our expertise encompasses architecture, urban design, landscape architecture and interior design.
For nearly two decades, White has invested in establishing a unique research-based department of highly qualified experts in the field of sustainable design. Our founder’s aim was to improve society through architecture and his legacy lives on in our ambition to contribute towards the building of a sustainable world.
About the City of Malmö
Malmö, Sweden is the commercial center of southern Sweden and an international city with 300,000 residents from approximately 170 different nationalities.
Malmö is undergoing a transition from being an industrial city to a city of knowledge. Older industries have been replaced by investments in new technology, training programs, and infrastructure – including the Öresund Bridge, which connects Malmö to Copenhagen. Malmö University, which opened in 1998, is Sweden’s latest venture in the field of higher education, accommodating some 24,000 students.
Over the last years the City of Malmö has received many international awards for its focus on sustainable city development and pilot projects such as Augustenborg and the Western Harbour. Malmö was also appointed as the first Fairtrade City of Sweden.
Architects Sweden
Architects Sweden is the professional organization for architects, interior architects, landscape architects and spatial planners in Sweden with 12,800 members, including 2,600 students.
About Individuell Människohjälp (IM)
IM is a Swedish member-based organization fighting and exposing poverty and exclusion through development cooperation, integration and Fair Trade. Founded in 1938, IM is currently working in five regions and thirteen countries worldwide.
IM’s international work focuses on people´s right to education, good health and ability to sustain a life in dignity. All projects are implemented in close collaboration with local partner organizations. IMs work in Sweden is focusing on integration and inclusion into society. The strengthening of civil society is both a means and an objective in all activities.
About Skanska
Skanska is one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups with expertise in construction, development of commercial and residential premises, and public-private partnerships projects. Based on its global experience, Skanska aims to be the clients’ first choice for Green solutions. The Group currently has 43,100 employees in selected home markets in Europe and North America. Skanska’s sales in 2015 totaled SEK 155 billion.