Day 2 - Reykjavik

We began the day with a trip to Reykjavik City Hall. Designed in 1987 by Studio Granada, it sits at the edge of Tjörnin Lake. Although, "sits on" is more appropriate, since half of the building sits in the water of the lake, and the main entrance of the building is flanked by a large reflecting pool.

(Notice the people walking "into" the pool?)

We did some sketching in the interior. I found a pair of stairs flanking an elevator. The treads were lit by recessed lighting in cut in the rise. The dark stone of the steps contrasted strongly with both the lighting and the crisp white walls. A landing at the halfway point contained a door which looked like it had been added on at a later time for enhanced security purposes. However, the door is glass and doesn't entirely seal up the path. I found the wood railing piece, identical to those found on the railing of the walkway across the lake (above) to be a particularly nice feature. 

Our next stop was our hard-hat tour of the Reykjavik Concert and Conference Centre (called "Harpa" by the locals) by Henning Larsen.  We received our tour from Ósbjørn Jacobsen, one of the lead architects of the building. The building is at least halfway completed, but there is a solid year's worth of work still left.

The facade was designed by Olafur Eliasson and derives from the famous basalt rock formations found in the volcanic areas. It has the fluidity of form and precision of assembly nicely integrate its artistic and architectural creators. 

The tour was a much-appreciated opportunity to view Icelandic construction practices, although the team is international. The architects are Danish, the engineers German and even the glass is installed by a group from China. We heard a variety of languages over the course of the afternoon, and witnessed some of the more humorous effects of mistranslation.

Our tour culminated at the largest concert hall, a complex web of wiring and scaffold. I can't even begin to sort it all out, so I'll just show you an image:

And, finally, a view of the construction site from the fifth floor (I think):

The Icelandic community's reaction to the building has been mixed. Many dislike the fact that the architects are Danish (relations between Icelanders and Danish as people seems strained in the wake of Iceland gaining sovereignty from Denmark in 1944). Henning Larsen brought on Olafur Eliasson, an ethnic Icelander, to design the facade in order to placate the public and represent Icelandic involvement in the building's aesthetic. To some extent, the Icelandic media downplay the involvement of Henning Larsen in the building's design in favor of Eliasson. Only in Iceland is Eliasson considered an architect in his own right! 

There was little time for sketching, let alone absorbing the flurry of activity around us. So, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!