About the workshop:

Natural materials, natural ventilation, nature-based solutions: buildings, budgets, policies and lives rest on this word. The Bureau holds it under careful scrutiny – not to restrain it, but to track its meanings as they travel.

Everyone in the room is a member with a case: What is “natural” to you? What would you keep of it, what would you let go, and what would you bring in?

Cases are argued through evidence brought by the participants: a stone, a sourdough starter, an offcut of cross-laminated timber, or even the term “natural language” itself. A small self-hosted language instrument keeps the minutes and prints each finding on receipt paper.

Out of the hearing, a small dictionary and an installation of the evening’s “naturals” take shape as Sofienberg’s contribution to the Bureaus to come.

Registration

The Bureau has space for 20 participants, and registration is required.

To join, send an email to thebureau@craitr.no with a short bio and your case: the meanings of “natural” you would keep, let go and bring in.

If you can, include a picture of your evidence, such as building materials, designed objects, songs, perfumes, code or something else you would like to bring into the discussion.

The workshop will be held in English.

Contributors:

Markéta Dolejšová is a practice-based researcher working across multispecies ecologies, art, design and environmental research. She is Head of the Doctoral Research Department and leads the Multispecies Ecologies & Practices research group at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

Enrique Encinas is Associate Professor at AHO and leads CRAITR, working with artificial intelligence, creative coding, interactive spaces and human-machine co-authorship.

Ilse Svortevik Hviding is an architect working across research, practice and material innovation, and is a partner in RÅ Materialer and affiliated with AHO.

Ulrik Antoniussen Halmøy is a computer scientist and artist who teaches coding and AI at KMD in Bergen and studies at the Art Academy of Bergen.