Urban redevelopment in Reykjavik. Studio Granda.

The history of Reykjavik, capital of Iceland, is relatively young. In 1801, the first house was built in what is now the city’s historical centre, the worksite of the Icelandic architects from Studio Granda, and this was followed by other buildings until it formed the urban centre.



In 2007, an open competition was called to redevelop one particular corner of the original centre of the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik. The winning bid was by a team of architects from three firms: Argos, Gullinsnið and Studio Granda. They considered the historical importance of the site as a built time-line of the city’s development and opted to reconstruct some of the area’s historical buildings.





Three in particular, one for each firm: Austurstræti 22, Lækjargata 2 and the cinema, Nýja Bíó..





They commenced with a full survey of the existing buildings and carefully salvaged whatever they could, basing their work on historical documents from the period and managing to recover a historical part of the city, using contemporary materials like cement and concrete. The innovation lay in seeing this operation not as a restoration but rather as a redevelopment, in line with the new community needs. So, the architects decided to keep the three volumes with new end uses connected, adopting thelandscaping design of the plaza between the new buildings as the core.





Indeed, this outdoor space is paved with locally sourced basalt, in accordance with the requirements of the historical centre of the city; this adjoins Hressó, the first public park in Iceland, which was also revamped as part of the project.

Client : City of Reykjavík

Architects : Studio Granda http://www.studiogranda.is/ in association with Gullinsnid & Argos architects

Structural Engineers : Verkís

Environmental Engineers : Verkís

Electrical Engineers : Verkís

Fire safety consultancy : Efla

Main contractor : Eykt

General contractor : SS Verktaka
Awards: Nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award 2013 Honorary Award http://www.miesbcn.com, Prix European d’architecture Philippe Rotthier European Prize for Architecture «The Time of Renovation» 2011
Photos: (c) Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson, courtesy of Studio Granda