In the context of the maturation of traditional concepts of identity into ‘new forms of plurality and spatiality’, this paper aims to explore the role of genius loci, memory, and ultimately identity in a particular gallery: the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney.

Initially, it considers ways in which regional and vernacular identities have informed and enriched the architectural project, instilling it with tangible and intangible traces of place, and the past and present people of that place. Formal and material influences from the abstract but poetic idea of north, the local topography and town, and the existent buildings on site, are revealed.