Bodø EngAGE
(2025)
Fabric+ hosted a master class in systems-oriented design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. The students explored how Molobyen in Bodø could become age-friendly.
Information
What happens when service and interaction designers co-create with architects to explore the age-friendly cities of the future?
Using a systems-oriented design approach, Fabric+ collaborated with the Centre for an Age-Friendly Norway and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) on the master studio Bodø EngAGE, based on insights from the research project Ageing in the Arctic.
The project explored how an age-friendly winter city can be shaped in Molobyen, a new urban development area in Bodø. Fourteen master students from eight countries – none of whom had previously visited Bodø – worked closely with the local context through two field trips, close collaboration with Bodø municipality, and participatory methods involving both residents and municipal employees.
An open and interactive exhibition at Bodø City Hall served as both a research arena and a meeting place, facilitating dialogue across disciplines, generations and institutions. Together, students and partners developed concepts within:
Age-friendly winter mobility — Heated walkways, wind protection and reduced car dependency
Public spaces that counteract loneliness — Winter-sheltered gathering places, food halls and the use of light and art
Housing solutions for ageing at home — Living arrangements that support meaning, belonging and lifelong mastery
The project demonstrates how interdisciplinary, place-specific and participatory design can contribute to socially inclusive and climate-resilient urban development in Arctic and northern contexts.
Fabric+ is bringing the exhibition back to Bodø in 2026 to further develop the dialogue and involve new and existing co-creators, including Molobyen Utvikling AS, OBOS, Bodø municipality, DOGA, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, Tusenhjemmet, Frivillighetssentral Bodø and Kirkens Bymisjon.
EngAGE represents a transferable model for municipalities, developers and actors working with age-friendly, winter-adapted and climate-resilient living environments.
Thank you to everyone who contributed with insight, trust and engagement in this shared exploration.
Deliverables
Course facilitation, lectures, city walks, workshops.
Client
AHO
Partners
Dr. Jonathan Romm, Abel Crawford and Andreas Wettre at SOD AHO
Location
Bodø and Oslo
Fabric+ Services
Systems-oriented design
Project management
Training
Lead
Siri Arntzen-Ratnarajan