The architecture and urban planning of the Atlantic region has been influenced by coastal and marine infrastructures operating at various levels, from local docks to transatlantic networks, each with their own unique physical and symbolic characteristics. The architecture of traditional maritime trades constitutes a cultural and productive infrastructure that suggests models of adaptation in the face of ecological transition and the reconfiguration of work, such as technical knowledge, the use of local materials and circular economies. This includes waterfronts, architecture, rehabilitation and heritage.

This thematic area encompasses shipyards, fish markets, fish farms, canneries, salting facilities, tidal mills, lighthouses, signalling systems, rope and fishing gear makers, machine shops, naval boilermakers, ports, docks and slipways, to name a few. We study their materials, value chains, working methods, and capacity to inspire current design criteria such as rehabilitation, resource efficiency, and situated knowledge.

From this perspective, key questions arise: how should these architectural traditions be preserved? What examples of rehabilitation or consolidation can we find? What can architecture learn from these trades in terms of a low material footprint and adaptation? How can the legacy of traditional maritime trades be integrated into new buildings with new uses, such as the conversion of factory buildings, docks for local industries, or community programmes?