PHASE TO PHASE
PHASE TO PHASE is a newspaper created by Jens Benjamin Romm and myself as part of the Systems Oriented Design master course at AHO, Design for Very Complex Systems, under the research frame of "Questioning (habitat) Development". It was developed as a companion piece to a gigamap, "Projecting and Reacting: Oslo", which was created by the other five members of the research group.
The newspaper serves as a physical artifact representing the complex matters of urban development in Oslo. Acting as a time machine, it curates a diverse collection of articles, advertisements, and commentary spanning a century (1950-2050), highlighting the evolving debates, policies, and narratives that have shaped the city. It is structured around five thematic sections: Extra-Ordinary, Don't Disturb, The Crystal Ball, Pyramids, and Roll The Dice — each offering different perspectives on the tensions, ideologies, and contradictions within Oslo's urban landscape.
The newspaper serves as a multi-layered exploration of urban development by juxtaposing historical and speculative articles, allowing readers to experience how urban policies, housing challenges, and public perceptions have shifted over time. By curating content in the form of news reports, commentary, advertisements, and entertainment sections, it mirrors the diverse and often conflicting forces shaping Oslo's urban fabric.
The contributions range from reports on past housing crises to imagined future scenarios, such as proactive grief for buildings before demolition. Satirical elements, fictionalized reporting, and interactive features like quizzes and workshop templates engage the reader beyond passive consumption, encouraging reflection on urban complexity.
Each section is carefully structured to explore different facets of urban life, including public participation in planning, social and economic inequalities, and speculative futures shaped by ecological and technological shifts. This curated approach helps illustrate systemic patterns and the socio-political forces influencing city-making, rather than presenting a linear history.
As a physical artifact, PHASE TO PHASE embodies the complexity of urban development by embracing contradiction and interconnectivity. The format—a newspaper—evokes accessibility and familiarity, yet its unconventional structure challenges traditional ways of understanding urban issues. The integration of real and speculative journalism, combined with English translations to ensure accessibility, allows for a broad engagement with the themes.
Moreover, the newspaper's connection to the gigamap strengthens its role as a tangible, narrative-driven entry point into the vast and intricate system of urban transformation in Oslo. By placing historical, contemporary, and imagined perspectives side by side, it invites readers to critically examine not just the past and present, but also their own agency in shaping the city's future.
