Birdland : Ornithological station and Visitor Centre at Lista

Abstract: For thousands of years the migratory birds has travelled across the earth in the same directions and returns to the same places generation through generation. They navigate by the magnetic field of the earth, star constellations, polarized light and through a visual memory of the geological landmarks like the coastlines. After they have made their journey across open sea they need place for resting. Lista is the first outpost after the long distance over the North Sea. Lista Bird Observatory has been in operation since 1989. The bird observatory's premier task is to identify the existence and development of bird populations and to collect quantitative data on bird migration over time. The observatory is strategically located at the flyways for several migration birds. Ever since its establishment all observation data has been recorded and since 1990 the observatory also make standardized bird ringing. In Norway, this material constitutes unique time series for the presence of a large number of bird species. This project answers to the need of appropriate locations for the bird observatory. It creates conditions for a national and an international research and a platform for the Norwegian Ornithological Society. It also gives spaces for environmental education and information where the architecture emphasizes the landscape as well as the bird- and wildlife. Local residents and occasional visitors are given room for recreation and meeting places and the project connects to a Norwegian culture of experience tourism. It underlines the bird observatory's significance and creates a local and regional center for bird watching. The architecture creates a focus and an awareness of the surrounding landscape and alludes to a tradition of vistas but in the same time it offers the visitors to enter and explore the nature.