Arkitektúr og skipulag - 01.09.1989, Blaðsíða 96

Page 46 Book Review
Gunnar Kristjánsson's book
Gengið í guðshús/Churches
of Iceland was published
recently in Icelandic and Eng-
lish versions under the Ice-
land Review imprint.
This is an accessible book
aimed at the general reader
rather than those with a spe-
cialist interest, with descrip-
tions and photographs of 24
churches, and an introduc-
tion on the history of the
Church in Iceland.
Page 48 Building for Selfoss
Comprehensive School
Designed by Dr.Maggi
Jónsson, the building was in-
tended to accommodated
475 students, whose studies are
divided into four broad
courses. Floor area is 5,384 sq.
metres, with teaching units on
three levels, entered from bal-
conies on the upper levels.
There is a glass roff, and under-
neath it a library, a "piazza" for
students.and cafeteria. Build-
ing materials have been cho-
sen to be simple and resistant
to wear-and-tear, i.e. to mini-
mise maintenance.
Page 52 Voice from the Past
The author Guðmundur Jónsson
inrecounts an imaginary meeting with
Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241), Ice-
land’s great warrior-historian in a
building designed by him which
recently own a prize in a Scandi-
navian competition and looks at the
modem Icelandic way of life from an
unexpected medieval viewpoint.
Page 55 The Diomede Com-
petition
A contestto design a symbolíc
link between the Diomede
islands(one belonging to the
USA, the other to the USSR) in
the Biering Strait attracted
1.290 entries. None was
awarded a prize, but several
were commended, including
the design submitted by lce-
landic architect Guömundur
Jónsson, who works in Norway.
Hedesigned a revolving bridge
which links the isles every 12
hours, at 6 am and 6 pm,
Page56 Photographic Contest
Arkitektúr og skipulag an-
nounces a competition for the
best photographs of architec-
tural subjects in lceland. Entries
must be received by March 1,
1990.
ter storage tanks in Reykjavík -
a revolving restaurant, due to
open soon.
Page 70 Planning Competi-
tion for Geldinganes
The City of Reykjavík has launched
an open competition for the planning
of a new residential district of the
city, Geldinganes. Entries must be
received by December 13 this year.
technology from Macintosh, elimi-
nating the drawing-board from the
design process. The different mem-
bers of the studio thus make impor-
tant economies of scale.
Page 84 Exterior Walls and
Surfacing Materials Bjöm
Marteinsson of the Building
Research Insitute writes about
the special requirements of
exterior walls in the climatic
conditions of Iceland, and
about the conventional type of
Icelandic exterior wall: a con-
crete wall, insulated on the
inner surface. Surface treat-
ment of various kinds aims to
make the wall less vulnerable
to damp while allowing ade-
quate ventilation. An extemal
layer of siding is often added
to existing buildings. Factors
which must be considered are:
the visual impact on individ-
ual buildings and whole dis-
tricts of such additional mate-
rials: fixingofprofilesbymeth-
methods which allow ventila-
tion.
The pros and cons of various
kinds of proflles aluminium,
steel timber covering and
cement surface, are consid-
ered.
Page 88 A New View of Sea-
men's Monuments
Art historian Aðalsteinn
Ingólfsson writes about two
new monuments to
lceland'sseamen, in Sandgerði
and Grundarfjörður, by artist
Steinunn
Þórarinsdóttir. The lcelandic
tradition of commissioning
monuments to the "heroes of
the sea" has not generally
produced memorable works
of art, but these are an hon-
ourable exception.
Page90 Seminaron Architec-
tural Training
An international seminar on the
introduction of architectural
training in lceland was held in
July this year, with participants
from Europe and North Amer-
ica. Long discussed, this proj-
ect is now at the serious plan-
ning stage.
Page 57 Planning Legisla-
tion in Scandinavia
Bjami Reynarsson writes about
developments in town planning
in Iceland and the other Nordic
countries. There has been a
tendency towards simplifica-
tion,
to greater public interest and
information, and to less cen-
tralised control.
Private companies have in-
creasingly planned and devel-
oped whole sections of towns,
within the framework of the
overall plan. The state itself
plays a decreasing role in de-
tailed planning. The Icelandic
sysem has not adapted from
the "fixed" plans of 20 years
ago. It is unwieldy, and can
only react slowly to suggested
changes. Quality cannot be
guaranteed by centralised
control. Creative variety can
only be achieved if designers
have freedom to work within
the framework of district plans.
Page 66 New Laws on Build-
ing Conservation
In May this year, Alþingi (par-
liament) passed new laws on
building conservation, which
give far broader powers than
before. All buildings and
churches dating from before
1918 are subject to conserva-
tion legislation. If alteration or
demolition is planned, the
Building Conservation Coun-
cil can impose a 2-week tem-
porary conservation order, to
stop work while the case for
permanent conservation is
considered.
Page 68 On the drawingboard
A new landmark is being built
on top of the geo-thermal wa-
Page 72 Ministries and Parlia-
ment
Valdimar Kristinsson discusses
the accommodation prob-
lems of lceland's ministries and
government offices. Future
plans aim to convert and add
to existing structures, to create
a more unified sector of gov-
ernment buildings.
The author suggests that the
National Library (soon to be
superseded by a new library
now under construction)
would offer useful space, and
that parliament (also con-
stricted by the existing Parlia-
ment House) move into the
National Theatre, which is in
the immediate vicinity of the
government offices. The fate
of the National Theatre Com-
pany is left undecided.
Page 74 On the drawing
board Reykjavík Town Hall
Reykjavík's town hall is now
being built on the banks of the
Lake in the city centre.
Page 76 "Happiness is Mo-
mentary"
Tryggvi Tryggvason writes
about the interior design of a
shop making the best use of
an essentially characterless
space and of an advertising
agency in an original setting,
where soft and hard materials
contrast.
Page 80 Studio Hús
Studio Hús has been founded jointly
by three design companies, a con-
struction contractor and a firm of
lawyers, with the latest in computer
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ARKITEKTÚR OG SKIPULAG