Alta

Alta is something out of the ordinary. In contrast to other places in its region, it claims to have ‘no need for public jobs’, it has managed to establish the region’s strongest business environment. The city is highly entrepreneurial and pro-active. The city has its origins in aquaculture, agriculture, and the slate industry, which successfully has been developed and represents an important side of Alta’s production today. For decades, the city has been the regional centre for contractors and construction businesses. Within the construction business, Alta is known for its competence and innovation, this is evident in the late tendencies of comprehensive implementation of new technology in construction processes. The city has also put forward a new focus on tourism as Alta is a desired destination for outdoor activities and nature experiences.

The three, often competing, centres of Alta and how they can form a sustainable model for Alta’s growth is the urban backdrop for the competition. The strategy of the municipality has been to develop each local centre with its particularities. The renewal of Bossekop will soon be undertaken and Skiferkaia plays a key role in the area planning. As Bossekop is the only local centre with access to the sea, it’s emphasized to connect the local centre with the seafront. The municipality finds it important to explore how historical and landscape qualities can be reinterpreted to add a new dimension to Alta and, moreover, how local resources, existing buildings and local actors can be included in the development.

Local slate producers is currently in the process of relocating the operations at ‘Skiferkaia’, an industrial area. This opens for a new understanding and use of this site. The municipality needs a masterplan and a vision for a multifunctional, urban and productive seafront that connects to the local center of Bossekop, and Alta at large. This includes plans for housing, student housing, culture activities and facilities for sustainable production. 

A fundamental guiding principle is that the plan should become a part of the productive development of Alta and the region, underpinning the Alta identity; culturally mixed, young and entrepreneurial. The existing buildings at Skiferkaia can inherit new productive activities that for instance evolves around the start-ups in the construction segment; Alta has a pro-active construction industry both in terms of digitial and manual innovation. Production at Skiferkaia could also involve crossing the edge of the quay - exploring sustainable aquaculture.