A‑lab

How can the growth of a company mirror the growth of a city ? A‑lab is short for « architecture laboratory », and the company was founded some 20 years ago by two entrepreneurs who wanted to break free from the traditional architectural mode of thought. Their claim was that in order for necessary innovation to happen, focus had to change from the finished object to the process. They created new interdisciplinary collaboration processes where all voices are heard and all options are possible – in both larger and smaller projects. One of the studio’s key tenets is to always expand their visions, and so their collaborators have been actors who welcome being challenged and whom A‑lab can learn from and with. Through a curated selection, this exhibition will present how this alternativeness has resulted in projects that not only reflect Oslo’s new era of urban development, they have influenced it in a profound manner.