Oslo is promoted as “the green city”, but another form of urbanity has developed within its borders: new types of public spaces have emerged as a consequence of urban renewal and infrastructural projects. The most significant of these is perhaps the construction of the central railway tunnel, which has placed large portions of Oslo Central Station on the height +9 above the sea level – a simple decision with numerous repercussions. Subsequently, projects such as Galleri Oslo, Oslo City and Byporten and the Hotel Opera have been built in relation to Oslo Central Station, forming an uninterrupted public interior three meters above the historical street level. Welcome to the +9 city!

+9 is part of a global phenomenon, having an easily identifiable logic. All cities have their own +9, though under different names and in different iterations. These places are intense, but lack a particular character of their own. +9 provides the framework for an urban environment defined by quantifiable parameters relating to the efficiency of infrastructure and shopping. +9’s quantitative and global origins render it devoid of any institutionalized cultural awareness: +9 is not regarded as a part of the authentic Oslo. At the same time, +9 is open to new interpretations: having neither pre-defined cultural imaginaries nor a singular iconography, +9 has a potential to blend contrasting narratives and unpredictable events; this is where the everyday Oslo unfolds.

+9 is a discussion of Oslo beyond its iconographic green profile and a documentation of the anonymous interiors of the city in the year 2009.