Kristiansholm

Kristiansholm is a liminal site at the edge of land and sea in Sandviken, Bergen. Once a rocky island and later a naval fort and seaplane base, it is now a flat, post-industrial plot awaiting large-scale redevelopment. Located adjacent to Bergen School of Architecture, its future includes dense private housing, new green zones, and a redesigned shoreline that will artificially ‘restore’ the island through landfilling.

For across, with, nearby, Kristiansholm becomes the site as well as the subject of a long-term engagement involving artists, students, and residents. Throughout the running period, Kristiansholm will operate as an active testing ground for situated pedagogy and public practice and engagement. Leading the programme, Floating University foreground alternative models of learning and civic presence, exploring how spaces in flux can host collective thinking and resistance. Extending the line of questioning developed during their earlier Cross Course, they ask: ‘who decides what this place will become?’, and ‘how can those living and working nearby become part of its future?’.

Through its series of Cross Courses, Bergen Assembly has hosted collaborative investigations into questions of access, ownership, and participation in the urban transformation projects proposed for Kristiansholm. These engagements — taking the form of workshops, performative actions, and public forums — respond to the political and environmental complexities currently shaping the city.