Silver: Commendation: Alistair Wood

Reine, which has suffered from the decline of the fishing industry.

Lofoten Seasonal Fishery
De Montfort University
Tutor: Tim Barwell

The decline of the fishing industry in the Lofoten islands of Norway has had a detrimental impact on cultural identity and community values. The aim of Alistair Wood’s Lofoten Seasonal Fishery is to rejuvenate the fishing community of Reine by providing facilities for local fishermen to catch, process and sell their own products. In turn, this re-engages the surrounding community with its cultural heritage.

Sections of proposed seasonal fishery incorporating processing, fishermen’s sleeping pods and a restaurant.

Referencing Lofoten’s vernacular architecture, the project’s design celebrates the collective life of the local fishermen. By stepping into the water, the fishery celebrates the process of deconstructing the cod as a spectacle to be admired while sleeping pod accommodation for traveling fishermen soars over the water’s edge on stilts. It links to a marketplace and eatery where the fish are sold to the public, thus completing the process from catch to sale to consumption.

All the fishery processes take place under a huge lattice timber canopy where the cod are hung out to dry in the sun. This canopy is a reference to the traditional timber Hjell structures erected by fishermen around the Lofoten islands. All organic waste is fed into the on-site anaerobic digester which generates power for the fishery.

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