North Atlantic Coast tells the tale of settlements north of the arctic circle, on the Norwegian coast, living from the abundant resources in the sea, coping with harsh weather, long distances to the markets and changing policies. Dried cod was established as an international commodity in the Viking age, a thousand years ago. Cod winter fisheries was the foundation of a still thriving, specialized culture and architecture, especially well developed and diverse in the area from Lofoten, over Vesterålen to the Senja island. Harbours, wharfs, fish production facilities, dwellings and public buildings were tools for the fishing industry – the imprint of the fisheries on land.
The resources, the fishing waters and the products describe a history of stability. The settlements, however had to reinvent themselves to adapt to new technologies, the logics of global production and markets, and national regulation policies. The monography follows Myre, today Norway’s most important harbour for cod fisheries. Myre mirrors the profound changes along the coast and is a showcase for building traditions, built ideologies and contemporary spatial practice and pragmatic architectural expressions.
North Atlantic Coast might be seen as belonging to a field of .rural studies», where the situation and the future of rural areas in an urbanizing world is investigated. The book contains more than 200 illustrations, mostly the authors’ own photos from 40 years of studying these settlements. The illustrations create a separate story in the text.