[THE EVENT IS SOLD OUT!]

The opening conference of the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2026 sets the tone for the festival, introducing the curatorial foundation and thematical framework behind "What if Nature Comes First?".

Through this title question, the 2026 Oslo Architecture Triennale reimagines the future of our built environment within planetary boundaries, exploring what potential the discipline of architecture has to lead us out of the current crises.

For the opening conference, we invite architects, planners, researchers, real estate developers, artists, students, politicians, neighbours – everyone interested in our built environment – to a collective conversation, hoping to learn from the solutions that already exist and discuss the opportunities for our common future.

The exhibition and programme of the Triennale is divided in to four scales – Materials, Structures, Territories, and Systems – through which the question of "What if Nature Comes First?" will be explored. The conference will be followed by the official opening of the "What if Nature Comes First?" exhibition – and the opening party!

Programme:

12 PM: WELCOME
Marianne Skjulhaug – Chair of the Oslo Architecture Triennale board

Opening Words
Bjørnar Skjæran – Minister of Local Government and Regional Development

What if Nature Comes First?
Line Ramstad – Chief Curator and Director, the Oslo Architecture Triennale

New Standard: Rebuilding the Vehicle for Circular Practice
Tine Hegli – Professor, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design

Regenerative Architecture and the Practice of Configurational Stewardship
Jonathan Grinham – Assistant Professor, Harvard GSD (US)

Making A Museum: Circular Building Practices For The Design Museum Gent
Sian Ricketts – Senior Architect & Sustainability Lead, Carmody Groarke (UK)

EDUCATION TALK – WHAT IF NATURE COMES FIRST?
Conversation with Anne Romme (Head of the Institute of Architecture, AHO), Kathrine Omnia Strøm (Lecturer, NMBU) and Steffen Wellinger (Professor at the Institute of Architecture and Planning, NTNU), moderated by Gro Sandkjær Hanssen (Research Professor, OsloMet).

Upcycling Ships and Oil Rigs to Transform an Industry
Fredrik Barth – Manager/Founder, VILL Architecture/Nordic Circles

Biogenic Materials Meet Existing Structures
Zeynep Topçu – Senior Lead, BC Architects & Studies & Materials (BE)

REAL ESTATE TALK – WHAT IF NATURE COMES FIRST?
Conversation with Jenny Josefine Holen (Head of Sustainability, Stor-Oslo Eiendom), Olav Birkenes (Partner/CEO, Birk & co) and Stig Bech (Partner/Lawyer, Haavind), moderated by Rasmus Jørgensen (Head of Architecture, Association of Consulting Architect Companies of Norway).

2.10 PM BREAK: COFFEE AND SNACKS

Revisiting History to Shape a New General Plan for Oslo
Sigrid Legernes Teigen – architect

URBAN GOVERNANCE TALK – WHAT IF NATURE COMES FIRST?
Conversation with Iñaqui Carnicero (Secretary General for Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture, ES), John Luna (City Architect, Ullensaker) and Véronique Claessens (Flemish Government Architect, BE), moderated by Hilde Sponheim (Senior Adviser, Design and Architecture Norway).

The World was Imagined Before it was Built
Appeal by Ingrid Haga & Nora Ulrikke Andersen – Editors, Paradigme

4 PM PROGRAMME FINISHED: BAR OPEN, FOOD TRUCK OUTSIDE

5 PM EXHIBITION OPENING AND PARTY