This week, Nordic Office of Architecture is inviting you to a breakfast seminar and panel debate to shed light on this highly relevant question. Several leading and engaged professionals from various fields will join our architects and urban planners to present thoughts and ideas about a more age-friendly society.

Diana Cruz, head of the urbanism initiative at Nordic, will lead the debate. She is passionate about how construction projects and urban plans affect communities and neighborhoods. “I believe that the key to well-being is good physical and mental health for the individual. If we facilitate a healthy lifestyle for people of all ages, we simultaneously promote well-functioning neighborhoods and cities. With this as a starting point, I have been involved in developing plans for varied, vibrant neighborhoods, with strategies for, among other things, co-housing, generation houses, and nature-based meeting places,” she says.

“We are pleased that several external enthusiasts will also contribute to the seminar,” continues Cruz. Tone Bye, Secretary General of Livsglede for Eldre, is a strong advocate for elderly care. She regularly participates in political meetings at the Storting and is a popular and engaging speaker in various forums. She invites us to look at developments with entirely new perspectives to achieve an age-friendly society. Karin Høyland is a senior researcher at SINTEF Community and co-author of the Norwegian Architects’ Association’s handbook on Age-Friendly Place Development. She has worked with the elderly, children, and various vulnerable groups and is committed to establishing diverse and inclusive places.

As the head of Nordic’s housing department, Marianne Lommerud is also highly committed to housing quality and the development of socially sustainable neighborhoods. “I am concerned that today’s housing solutions should be suitable for all ages and life situations and reflect the demographics and household compositions. Homes and neighborhoods must be designed to provide safe and stable living conditions where individuals feel included and contribute to the local community.”

Finally, we are pleased to present a feel-good film about seniors in Bergen. “Greymatter highlights new ways of living together and aging in co-housing, and how local initiatives can give the elderly meaning and new energy in everyday life,” says Jérome Picard, partner at the architectural firm LOCAL in Bergen, which is behind the award-winning production.