All the buildings at Trastad were designed by the architect Else Thorp Larsen in Narvik and they reflect the ongoing conflict of interest between governmental bureaucrats' desire for maximized capacity and the institution's wish for manageable units. For many years there was a debate about size and the largest buildings predate 1966. In the lower part of the complex there are four pavilions which each housed 20-25 residents per floor. The more or less same size two storey brick buildings have rendered walls and pitched roofs. The windows are gathered in groups or long rows. This represents the matter of fact style of Norwegian architecture typical of post war reconstruction era and the 1950s. From 1966 onwards there was a change in strategy and smaller pavilions were built higher up in the landscape. These offered more suitable accommodation for this group of residents.