Sharing Fluid Ground: A Landscape of Co-existence Building upon the Unstable “New Land” Along the Coast of Stavanger

With the sustained impacts of climate change, and the corresponding effects of post-glacial rebounding, a persistent sea level change continues to affect the countries within the North Sea region. These changes could indicate new threats or opportunities to human society. According to the synthesised datas of historical and current mean sea level from satellite altimetry, and projected sea level in the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), in the specific case of Norway, people may not worry too much about the influx of sea water to their community. For the vertical uplifting of Earth’s crust after the melting of continental glaciers released the loads is even more decisive than the rising rate of sea level. Although, the changes in projected relative sea level until 2100 are different, depending on different locations, the report also addressed that there are lots of uncertainties lie in the trends of sea level change, especially in such a long period. Take one of the many scenarios as a precondition, which would be the sea level along the coastline of Norway keeps on dropping until the next century, a long and narrow area of marshland which connects the sea and inland mountainous areas revealed. In the circumstance that most countries in the North Sea region are busy dealing with flooding from the sea, this spectrum of ‘new land’ seems more precious. It could be a new opportunity for human settlements, but in the mean time, it is definitely not just living space, or potential urbanisation field for humankind. The land which used to be washed and filled with sea waters was a habitat for maritime species, and good harbour for small fishing vessels of fishermen is now dominated by rocks, salty marsh vegetations, organisms, seabirds, and occasionally visited by human beings. Thus, I wish the city we live in could act like a crocodile, she should have the quality of the amphibious. In this case, the boundary of ‘land’ and ‘sea’ blurs in a harmonious scene of sharing the same space among all the species through time. Time would be the witness of this natural succession on this ‘fluid ground’.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Science