GaiaVesterålen

GAIAVESTERÅLEN WILL BUILD A CONTAINER MUSEUM, A SIGNAL BUILDING OF DECOMMISSIONED CONTAINERS FROM THE FISHING INDUSTRY.

The building will be made of recycled materials and be climate neutral in both buildings and operations. Inside the container museum there will be an advanced high-tech model of Vesterålen, a model that deals with the past, present and future through 16 selected themes.

MADE ON REUSE IN A CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

The ambition is to build a container museum in Sortland harbour with the highest recycling rate realized in large construction processes. Today, the highest recycling rate in large construction processes is 70%, GaiaVesterålen wants to raise the level to 100%. We want to demonstrate the relationship between environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits. An important objective of the project is to be able to launch the container museum in connection with Bodø2024.

MUSEUMS SHOULDN’T JUST PRESERVE THE PAST. THEY ARE ALSO A PLAYER IN THE PRESENT, with THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE THE FUTURE.

The environmental contract is intended to motivate residents and local communities to take an active role in the realisation of sustainable solutions through co-production. With the UN Sustainable Development Goals no. 11–15 and 17 as the starting point, the contract shall be formulated so that individuals, businesses, the public sector, teams and associations can stand behind them.

To draw up the environmental contract, we have gathered a representative group from the local community in Vesterålen, with advocates for everything from business and agriculture, to youth councils and municipalities.  The core group consists of 30 representatives from all of Vesterålen’s municipalities, based on everything from fisheries to aerospace. The problem the core group will solve is: can the region agree on defined climate and environmental goals in a separate environmental contract for Vesterålen?  Nordland Research, one of the research partners in GaiaVesterålen, leads co-production and the development of the environmental contract.

It is a goal that the contract leads to concrete changes in a more environmentally and climate-friendly direction among those who sign.

THE RESEARCH PROJECT IN GAIAVESTERÅLEN IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HISTORY PROJECT WHERE INNOVATION, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT PLAY KEY ROLES

The project aims to demonstrate the relationship and future dependence between environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits.

GaiaVesterålen is based on broad cooperation between businesses, the public sector, organisations, private individuals – and focuses on children and young people.

IT IS THE LINK, INTERACTIONS AND INTERACTION BETWEEN THESE TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS THAT ARE AT THE HEART OF THE PROJECT.

Central to the research project is the development of a new experience product. At Sortland, a container museum will be built, where a high-tech model of Vesterålen will be created using highly advanced technology. As an exhibition experience, the model of Vesterålen becomes a game changer in a museum context, and deals with the past, present and future through a total of 16 selected topics. The model’s most important function will be data collection and information about the environmental contract. Through the research project, we will produce content for several traveling container products that will be shipped around the world and act as underlying units. We will put Vesterålen on the map, both nationally and internationally.

The research project in GaiaVesterålen is supported by the Research Council of Norway through the Innovation Project scheme in the Business Sector with NOK 13.2 million. In total, with funding from the Research Council and own efforts from partners, the project currently has a total funding of approximately NOK 25 million.

Partners in the research project are Nordland Research and Sintef Digital, as well as Deadline Media, Vesterålen ICT, Lundhagem Architects, Reno-Vest and Museum Nord company Lofotr Næringsdrift.