Arkitektúr og skipulag - 01.03.1989, Page 101

ENGLISH SUMMARY
This issue of Arkitektúr og skipulag
(Architecture and Planning) is on the
theme of winter living. This winter,
with unusually heavy snow, has
reminded Icelanders of the fact that
they live in a cold country, and must
adapt. The late president Kristján
Eldjám once remarked that to be
contented in Iceland it was only
necessary to dress warmly, and the
same principle can be applied to
architecture and planning with the
climate in mind.
Page 8 Winter's Come to
Town
Gerður Steinþórsdóttir writes about
developments in winter activities,
which can be anything from walking
m and around the city to skiing, riding
and swimming.
Page 10 Winter Cities
ÞorvaldurS. Þorvaldsson writesabout
the concept of Winter Cities, which
first emerged in 1978 with a
conference in Minnesota. In 1986,
406 delegates from 83 cities in 11
countries met in Edmonton, Canada
t0 consider the problems posed by
Winter Cities. Another conference
was held in 1988 in Edmonton, and
the next is planned in 1990 in Tromsö.
The problem is posed: how can we
make northerly cities more pleasant
to live in for the long wintermonths?
In Iceland, this idea is being tackled
in a variety of ways: e.g. Kjama-
skógur, a wooded park outside
Reykjavík, is adapted to the winter
hy creating facilities for ski-walking.
In Reykjavík, the new shopping mall
Kringlan creates an all-year summer
environment. Under-street heating in
part of the old town encourages all-
season use. Sheltered piazzas are
planned in the old town. Geothermal
energy can be applied in many ways
t° improve the winter city. Major
tree-planting projects are in progress.
Page 13 Bo i Nord, Tromsö
i nord“ is an exhibition of
apartments on the theme of homes
adapted to climate. It is held in
connection with the Winter Cities
conference which is to be held in
Tromsöin 1990. Groupsofarchitects
Irom all the Nordic countries,
mcluding four from the host country,
Norway, participate in the planning.
^Qge 18 Winter Activities in
a Designed Environment
In addition to the conventional
winter sports”, there are all sorts of
activities for winter in Iceland. Snow
and ice are not the winter norm in
Iceland, and provision should be made
for other wintertime games and sports.
Provision should be made for sled
runs, ski-walking and skating, but
school playgrounds, for instance,
should also be sheltered in order to
encourage children to spend free time
out of doors. Playgrounds for younger
children should have underground
heating to keep sandpits frost-free.
Although playgrounds need to be
fenced, children should have achance
to see out from climbing-frames of
hillocks. Trees play as important a
role in winter as in summer.
Page 23 The First lcelandic
Architect?
Paul M. Clemens, who may be called
the “first Icelandic architect”, was
bom in Reykjavík in 1870, and
emigrated to Chicago with his family.
His sumame was an americanization
of the Icelandic patronymic
Klemensson. At the beginning of this
century hemovedtoWinnipeg, where
many Icelandic emigrants had settled,
and he went on to design many
churches, schools and industrial
buildings. Clemens always
maintained close links with his origins
in Iceland. He died in 1966.
Page 26 Mývatn - Winter
Paradise
The area around Lake Mývatn is
one of Iceland’s most popular tourist
locations, but relatively few people
have hitherto visited it in winter.
Efforts are being made to develop
Mývatn as a winter destination, and
activities include snowmobiling. This
March the first official snowmobile
championship was held there. Fishing
through the ice of the frozen lake is
also a popular pastime and
competitive sport, and facilities for
ski-walking are good.
Page 29 The British Pub
The British pub builds on a long
tradition, and many different ways
have been tried of producing the right,
relaxed, atmosphere for the pub
customer. The author considers
whetherlcelanders can leam anything
from the British pub tradition, as beer
is legalised this year after more than
70 years of outlawry.
Page 38 Infinity in a Endosed
Space
Pálmar Kristmundsson describes two
different liquor stores which he
designed with Tryggvi Tryggvason -
one a new building in Mjódd,
Reykjavík, the other in an existing
building in Hafnarfjörður. In both
cases the aim was to create the illusion
of weightlessness and space.
Page 42 Gunnar Hansson -
In Memoriam
Gestur Olafsson writes about the late
Gunnar Hansson, architect. He
designed e.g. the Hlemmur bus centre
in Reykjavík, Iceland’s first covered
piazza, which won him the DV
cultural award in 1979.
Page 45 Reykjavík Bars
Before Prohibition
On the occasion of the re-introduction
of alcoholic beer in Iceland on March
1 this year, Guðjón Friðriksson asks:
Was there a “pub culture” in Iceland
before total prohibition was
introduced in 1915?Hótel Islandwas
“the” town pub for many years, while
several more places were licensed
after 1870. Reykjavík’s most
colourful pub, known as “The Pigsty”,
was in the hotel basement. It was
closed down after being taken over
by the growing temperance
movement in 1907. The main
competition was the pub at Hótel
Reykjavík, known as “The Pump”.
Total prohibition was introduced on
January 1, 1915.
Page 50 Environmental
Heating from Geothermal
Sources
Natural hot water, which has been
used for many y ears for space heating,
has recently been applied to
environmental heating, such as
heating under driveways, car parks,
etc. to keep them clear of snow. This
is, however, an expensive method.
Although geothermal energy is a
cheap source of heat, it is not
inexhaustible and should be exploited
sensibly. There are many possible
applications such as pedestrian
precincts, jogging tracks, piazzas, etc.
Page 53 A Skating Rink in
Akureyri
Akureyri has traditionally been the
skating capital of Iceland, and in 1986
work started on an open-air
artificially-frozen rink, allowing
skating for far more of the year than
hitherto. It opened at the end of last
year. The next stage is to roof the rink
over.
Page 56 Two's Company,
Three's a Crowd
Dr. Bjarni Reynarsson considers
density and plot ratio in different
communities, and experiments with
density of population. A simple
comparison between Reykjavík and
other Nordic cities shows that
Reykjavík has the lowest density of
population - in
fact, however, only a third of the land
within the city limits is inhabited, and
a more accurate reflection of real
density in the city proper is about 20
homes per hectare. Density varies
considerably between different
districts of the city, from 73 homes
perhectareintheOldTownto 19.5 in
the suburb of Arbær-Selás.
The City Plan for 1984-2004 allows
for an average density of 14 to 16
homes per hectare in new districts.
The cost of roads and other utilities in
new districts is affected by density of
development, and the cost per home
is much lower where density is higher.
High-density construction has
become increasingly popular in
Denmark, while high-rise apartment
buildings have become the exception.
A project carried out by the Building
Research Institute in Denmark was
based on density of 15 to 30 homes
per hectare, with shared play areas,
etc.
The city of Reykjavík is growing fast,
faster than previous planners had
expected. Dr. Bjami Reynarsson
argues that new construction in the
city needs more innovation and
experimentation, e.g. in higher-
density development.
Page 68 Bláfjöll Park
In 1973, the Bláfjöll mountain area
was designated a public park by the
local authorities in the capital area.
This is the area’s major ski centre,
andvarious plans are under way, to
build additional facilities, increase the
number of ski lifts, etc. Last year the
price of season tickets was lowered,
in order to encourage people to make
more use of the facilities, for instance
in the evening after work. A daily
ticket in Bláfjöll costs ISK550, about
half the price in an Alpine resort.
Page70 Ski and Leisure
Centre in the Bláfjöll
Mountains
Design by Gísli Sæmundsson for final
diploma from the Árhus
Arkitektskole, 1987. The design aims
to give the Bláfjöll ski area (just
outside the city of Reykjavík) a
broader role as a summer and winter
leisure area with hotel, apartments,
sport and swimming facilities.
Page 72 Pluralism in
Architecture
Ámi Jónsson argues in favour of
pluralism in architecture, as against
the monotony which Modemism has
often produced. He points to several
French architects as examples of
pluralism.
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