Talk ”Arctic birdwatching and its architecture” with Tormod Amundsen

Tormod Amundsen from Norway is a fervent birdwatcher and founder of the Biotope architecture practice. In Varanger Tormod saw the possibility of helping to establish the world’s first arctic birdstation, and for that purpose moved his architecture practice to Vardø, high up in the northeast of Norway.

Right from the start the idea was to create an office which worked internationally to combine nature and architecture. Biotope has contributed to putting Varanger on the world atlas of birdwatching destinations, and the region has also had a marked increase in tourism over the past years. Biotope itself has won prizes both for architecture and innovation and today has projects in ten different countries, from exciting places such as Vardø to the Himalayas and Falkland Islands. This presentation is a story of the ability to see possibilities as a birdwatcher and to work towards making a dream take flight.