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The future of living with OBOS Living Lab

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Participants engaging in a co-creation session at OBOS Living Lab, exploring future housing concepts through brainstorming and collaborative activities.
Participants engaging in a co-creation session at OBOS Living Lab, exploring future housing concepts through brainstorming and collaborative activities.

Client: OBOS

Services

Service design

Industries

Consumer

Prototyping the future of living

What does the future of living look like? That question defines the nature of our work with OBOS, one of the largest public housing companies in the Nordics. Together, we’re prototyping the future of living. Using a full-scale living lab in Oslo, we are exploring innovations in shared spaces, smart technology, and climate-friendly designs through co-creation and real-world experimentation.

The exterior of OBOS Living Lab, a full-scale experimental housing building in Oslo, showcasing innovative design and sustainable architecture.

Photo credit: Synne Dahl

Challenge

Designing for future needs

OBOS Living Lab aims to address challenges of the near future – such as urbanization, climate change, mental health, new family structures and changes to work life. The goal is to rethink housing concepts to create liveable, sustainable communities that can adapt to the shifting demands of urban living.

An illustrated representation of activities at OBOS Living Lab, highlighting shared spaces and innovative community interactions.

Illustration credit: LPO

Approach

Co-creation and experimentation through a living lab

An entire apartment building in the center of Oslo is the setting for a full-scale living lab, where our designers and strategists gather insights into how we can create a better and more sustainable way of living. Through exploring and iterating on concepts such as shared spaces, housing services, smart technology, environmental and climate-friendly solutions, we're discovering opportunities that will help solve key challenges of the future.

Visual diagram illustrating concepts of sustainable housing and shared spaces, developed through OBOS Living Lab initiatives.
A vibrant scene of participants exploring future housing concepts with creative materials and tools during a workshop at OBOS Living Lab.
A workshop at OBOS Living Lab featuring brainstorming materials, showcasing collaborative exploration of sustainable housing solutions.
Outcome

Driving transformative urban solutions

The initiative is delivering actionable insights into future housing needs, while influencing policy and pushing boundaries for future-ready communities and housing strategies.

The full-scale experimentation has residents at the heart of the work – offering insight into the future needs of humans, while challenging and shaping the mindset of tomorrow’s housing industry. Through insights, co-creation and prototyping, OBOS is optimistically pushing the boundaries that will unlock the future of living.

A group of residents and strategists participating in a session at OBOS Living Lab, discussing innovations in housing and community living.

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