LIFE ON THE EDGE: The Archeologist, the Oil Rig, and the Newfoundlander

By 2101, L'Anse aux Meadows—a UNESCO-listed Viking archaeological site in Newfoundland—faces a transformed landscape where decommissioned offshore oil rigs, once symbols of resource extraction, now serve as monumental scrapyards and material salvage hubs. This speculative design project reimagines heritage in an era of climate-driven change, exploring how salvaged components can reshape terrain, community, and cultural identity while grappling with the complex legacies of extraction. Through critical drawings and maps, the research interrogates monumentality, counter-monumentality, and the future of heritage on the edge of environmental and historical upheaval.

Coughlan, Z. LIFE ON THE EDGE: The Archeologist, the Oil Rig, and the Newfoundlander. https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2020-14055