Adnan Harambasic - The importance of good compromise

On Saturday, November 23, 2024, in the Moise Palace located in the old town center of the City of Cres, a symposium entitled Waves of Exchange: Navigating Port Cities of the Future was held. The symposium was organized by DELTALAB – Center for Urban Transition, Urbanism and Architecture of the University of Rijeka (UNIRI) and renowned architecture office SAAHA from Oslo, and was conducted as part of the interdisciplinary university specialist program Urban Studies. By bringing expertise from Oslo, Norway, the symposium aimed at fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, and capacity building, in order to address the multifaceted challenges facing port cities. The initiative’s overarching topic is situated within the thematic focus of the new generation of Urban Studies titled “WATERWORLD FUTURES” in which the exploration and comparison of Rijeka and Oslo as port cities is situated. Lectures were held by Luka Skansi (POLIMI), Ellen de Vibe (former City of Oslo), Franziska Meisel (SLA) and Adnan Harambašić (SAAHA). The symposium demonstrated the potential for cross-border partnerships to address complex urban challenges and envision more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant port cities of the future. __________________________________________________________________________ Adnan Harambasic is an internationally experienced architect with a focus on large-scale projects. After 10 years as a partner at A-lab/Oslo, he co-founded SAAHA in 2013. At A–lab, he played a key role in the Barcode project and led the team that won the competition for the Hammerfest Arctic Culture Centre. He co-led the development of Statoil's headquarters and became a finalist in the Nordic Built Challenge. At SAAHA, he has led several award-winning projects, including the Futurebuilt competition. Harambasic has been president of NAL (2021—2024), a juror for the Jacob Prize, and has taught internationally. Lecture brief: When working in a complex context, the ability to find good compromises becomes crucial to getting something done. While dealing with physical context is something we architects are trained to do, dealing with questions of identity and economic feasibility is more complex. What to build the future identity on and can we find a way to reconcile the need for development with the protection of the important historical heritage? If we do not take financial considerations into account, the plans we develop will never become realized. The compromise can be seen as the process of finding a common ground and interest. How we negotiate different interests and reach an agreeable solution for everyone becomes the biggest challenge faced when developing new plans and strategies. When we fail to find good compromises, things take too long, we are unable to make decisions and, in the worst case, development stops. If the process takes too long and we finally manage to adopt a plan, it is very often already out of date. If successful, a good compromise can help us develop a plan that is considered a collective vision and a plan that is robust enough to handle adjustments over time. Through a concrete example of the process behind the development of a detailed zoning plan for Hegreneset, a relatively small industrial area in the west coast city of Bergen, the advantages and disadvantages of the way this is done in Norway are illustrated. Hegreneset is to be transformed from industry to a new neighbourhood, with a 950 m coast line, challenging topography, existing neighbourhood in the immediate vicinity, and relatively extensive and preservation-valuable industrial heritage on and off the site. _________________________________________________________________________ Organized by: DELTALAB - Centre for urban transition, architecture and urbanism (Ida Križaj Leko, Filip Pračić & Josipa Laklija) / University of Rijeka Produced by: Filmerija Editor: Juraj Bačić Camera: Juraj Makarun Camera assistant: Omar Lović Design and visual identity: Maša Poljanec Special thanks to: Ellen De Vibe, Franziska Meisel and Luka Skansi for participation in the symposium; Adnan Harambašić, our partner from Oslo (SAAHA) as well; Ministry of regional development and EU Funds; University of Rijeka Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe / Moise Palace for hosting the symposium Bilateral initiative “Waves of Exchange: Navigating Port Cities of the Future” is financed through the Fund for Bilateral Relations of EEA Grants and Norway Grants