you.
just walk here, freely. you. you can just walk, completely free. where you want. to where you want
let loose your sheep
let loose your dogs
let loose the sheep
let loose the dog
take the cat
take the ferret
take the kindergarten
take the children
take others that you don’t usually take
if you want to start over.
you can walk round and round
here.
you can sit
here.
you can gather yourself
here.
or
you can gather your friends
at just this point.
at this place.
gather them around this point
in this space
let loose your sheep
let loose your dogs
let loose the sheep
let loose the dog
here, you can meet other gazes, without intrusion
here, you can see others, in other lives
you can gather yourself here, at this point
run train lie march cry bleed jump dance die and walk
look
everything else the other
but just so you know:
there might be walls around.
there might be roads around.
there might be mounds around
there might be ditches around
there might be oceans around
there might bu noise around
just so you know.
the wind still rules all open spaces
the wind still rules
the wind still rules all commons
all commons in the world
absolutely all commons
the more open the space the greater the risk
the more open the space the greater the risk of wind
in trieste for instance
in haugesund for instance
in calcutta for instance
in trieste for instance at the great long wide piazza
called piazza del popolo
where the cruel wind the cruel cold north wind
la bora
steals down the massive mountain and bores into the cafes
lifts tablecloths and skirts and uniforms.
in haugesund for instance on the town hall square where
raw wind constantly teases the pink candy house
with raw air
and then the maidan in calcutta
a giant imperial green – part piazza part park – displaced miles away days away
away from queen victoria.
and then the market common in bergen.
they say it’s the biggest piazza north of milan
the place where the accordion rules
the place where the long sour pan pipes rule
the piazza where aggression rules
the place where the dulcimers rule, hammering the final countdown
in the crowns of king Alcohol
choirs crowd on crowd on crowd parade after parade after parade fill the space
with power, pomp and power. summer seasons filled
with parades drums.
a vast stone-paved area filled to the brim with drumming rascals
uniformed rascals. a tradition only broken during the war
when other rascals were there.
a vast stone-paved area filled with national costumes
a vast stone-paved celebration of heating cables
or vast gatherings of cars from america that fill the common. and large men looking
at their bikes.
the open space can be a place filled with energy
energy from all the people who just walk and hum
carefully, silently. the wonderful thing about open free space
open free areas
is you can really hum as much as you like.
as long as you like.
as loud as you like
let loose your sheep
let loose your dogs
let loose the sheep
let loose the dog
Nicholas Møllerhaug
Facts:
Commissioned by Arkitektur N for the discussion of urban space in the Bjørvika development. In the Bjørvika plan, the wide streets leading down to the water's edge are called allmenninger or "commons".
English translation by Ingerid Helsing Almaas