Transforming Empty Offices into Houses

Written By Comte Bureau

Oslo faces a paradox: while commercial buildings stand empty, housing prices continue to rise. Yet, converting these buildings into homes remains rare—often, demolition and new construction are seen as the easier option. InnoArch, Haavind, and Comte Bureau aim to change this!

With support from DOGA’s Design-Driven Innovation Program (DIP), we are exploring how legal and technical barriers can be removed to enable more office-to-housing conversions. By combining policy design, Comte Bureau’s problem-solving approach, and Haavind’s legal expertise, this project is paving the way for a more sustainable urban development—shaping both legislation and industry practices.

A Cross-disciplinary approach for change Through an innovative collaboration between the private and public sectors, we leverage design and architecture strategically to influence political and legal systems. By merging architectural insights, legal frameworks, and urban planning expertise, we drive practical solutions that could redefine Oslo’s housing market.

🔹Key results and impact Our work has led to:

  • Clearer legal pathways for adaptive reuse, making it easier for developers to convert office buildings into homes.

  • Pilot projects demonstrating how sustainable reuse can work in practice.

  • Stronger collaboration between government agencies, private developers, and legal experts to align regulations with modern urban needs.

  • Concrete policy proposals that could accelerate the approval process for housing conversions.

  • Greater awareness in the public and private sectors about the potential of reusing commercial buildings.

A model for the future This initiative is a prime example of how interdisciplinary innovation can solve urban challenges. By breaking down regulatory barriers and promoting adaptive reuse, Oslo can create affordable housing, reduce waste, and support a greener city. The time to act is now!

Comte Bureau

Comte Bureau help you innovate and create better services, products and environments. We firmly believe that it’s possible to create value for clients, and at the same time shape the future in a responsible way.

We are an interdisciplinary team consisting of social scientists, architects, graphic designers, service designers, product designers and business consultants. And whether the goal is to rethink a public service, improve a brand concept or design a space we use the same approach which start with a deep understanding of people - followed by a development of solutions responding to their needs.

Our unique combo of competence allows us to develop customer experiences within a wide range of businesses. And through collaboration, innovation and creativity we want to inspire people to adopt new behaviors that can have a positive impact on our surroundings.

https://comte.no/
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