NO ONE CREATES ALONE

Only through each other can we live and breathe – and no one creates alone. Artist Sonja Ferlov Mancoba’s words became etched in my mind when I read the books written about the life she and her husband, Ernest Mancoba, lived. You can read their story in this edition of Nordic Living. They are a prime example of artists who go through unthinkable hardship and who achieve fame only posthumously. They were inspired by some of the most famous names in art and the most profound tales in world literature – and they believed in community and a global outlook. What traces do we leave on Earth? Meaning you. And me. I met many interesting people in 2018, who, I would generally say, are seeking some deeper meaning in life and trying to nudge the world in a better direction. Most designers and architects today incorporate sustainability into the new objects or homes they create. Indeed, a true pioneer in this field is Pritzker Prize-winning, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, whom I met at the opening of an exhibition at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, Denmark. He turns things upside down, defying convention and seeing new and realisable opportunities. The drawing office Elemental was initially renowned for its alternative approach to social housing in Chile’s slum areas, the concept being that scarce finances spur a need to seek new solutions that maintain the quality of the construction. So in 2003, Elemental built the first “half house”, where one half, the structural part, of a single-family house is built together with an empty half, which the residents can complete over time. Elemental is in charge of the complex part of the construction, the rest is up to the family living in the house. This allows the architects to stay within the financial confines and gives the residents a sense of ownership of their new home. The value of the home increases as the residents add to it. The “half house” concept builds on a pragmatic upside-down approach, an extended form of user involvement that gives the future residents a voice throughout the process. To kick off the joint process, residents are invited to build cardboard models of their future house together with the architects, who listen to their needs and knowledge. The residents initiate the process, and ultimately end it by completing the building.

Alone or together ... the media – including us – have proclaimed the shared economy as a strong trend that can help push consumerism in a more sensible direction. It is a beautiful notion – the idea that not everyone has to own a hedge trimmer or that everyone in an apartment building shares a single, collectively purchased drill. However, in reality, only few live the trend. I know several people who car share, so this is a consumer trend that is likely to (slowly) develop. However, the circular economy is booming. Second-hand shops and flea markets are now ubiquitous, meaning that we reuse things and buy quality items when we need something new. No, no one creates the good life alone. We depend on each other and can use each other to attain a better life for all. That is a good motto for our consumption in the years to come. I hope that you will enjoy this newest edition of Nordic Living.

THE FAROE ISLANDS is a small nation consisting of 18 major islands about halfway between Iceland and Norway. It’s nature attracts tourists from all over the world.