The 1952 national care strategy for people with learning disabilities accelerated the building of centralized institutions in Norway. Trastad in Kvæfjord, west of Harstad, was the chosen location for the North Norwegian institution, and in 1954 it was the first in the country to be opened in accordance with the new plan. During the period between 1954 and 1970 twelve separate buildings were built on Trastad's sloping south-facing land with beautiful views over the fjord. Many of these were residential pavilions of varying size, and the oldest ones are closest to the main road.

Several buildings are today used by the Trastad Collections, which is a museum of the history of people with learning disabilities and their art, sometimes described as outsider art.