Masterclass: How (and Why) to Work with Innovation When Developing Sports Facilities – Session 2

Session 2 | How to work with innovation? Overcoming the paradoxes and anchoring the vision
Part of a three-session masterclass. Registration covers all three sessions.

Content

· Introduction to “problem-driven" or “need-led" innovation. Shift the focus away from early-phase solutions and questions about what to build, and instead focus on the challenges, problems, and needs that any solution should address. This shifts the central question to: “Why should we build?"

· Knowledge as the basis for answering the above question and developing an operational project vision—five levels of knowledge: economy, facilities, trends and tendencies, citizens and local areas, and architecture and process

· Checklist for developing a vision—value-based and problem-based, concrete, and goal-oriented

Breakout

Ranking the issues and framing them positively to formulate a vision.

From vision to architectural responses

Visions often point to several, possibly conflicting, answers. This can be addressed by working closely with end users and architects to visualize several relevant architectural responses to the vision and the principles developed.

Three examples of how to work with scenarios
· Street Mekka (architectural competition, three teams working on three different solutions)
· Nordliv (one team working with three scenarios as a tool, later synthesized into a final solution)
· Nørrebro United (elimination process in which one team proposed four solutions that were improved ahead of each workshop. One solution was eliminated in each workshop, resulting in one anchored solution at the end of the process)

Breakout

Discussion of how we design processes to anchor solutions based on user needs.

Issues and questions to be explored

1. How can we strengthen procurement capabilities and build client competence to ensure robust foundations for innovative projects?
2. What strategies can ensure that the potential end users remain at the center of innovation efforts, addressing their needs and aspirations?
3. How can we anchor development in knowledge and data to guide decisions and foster evidence-based innovation?
4. How can we develop strong, locally relevant visions in collaboration with users and stakeholders, and ensure commitment to those visions throughout the process?
5. What measures can we take to ensure a focus on long-term value, balancing immediate needs with sustainable future outcomes?

About the masterclass

This is one of three sessions in a masterclass jointly organized by IAKS Nordic and the Danish Foundation for Culture and Sports Facilities (LOA). Bringing together Nordic knowledge, research, and practical experience, the masterclass explores innovative approaches to planning, designing, and developing sports and leisure facilities.

The three 90-minute sessions combine lectures based on Danish research and analysis with discussions and group work exploring Swedish, Nordic, and international perspectives. For further information:

Expore the other sessions:
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Practical information

The masterclass will be conducted in English.

Advance registration is mandatory and binding. Registration is for the complete three-part masterclass only; individual sessions cannot be booked separately.

Registration opens on [date]. Participants who registered for Träffpunkt Idrott using the IAKS discount code will be given priority. Further registration details will follow.