Arkitektúr og skipulag - 01.03.1990, Side 81

SU M M ARY
plan was revised, and it was
felt preferable to enlarge the
existing building. The new
structure is attached to the
old by a linking building,
while the size of the new
building is minimised by hav-
ing its base level three metres
below ground level, and with
a curved roof and dark col-
our. The building's ground
area is 1705 sq.m., and the
sports hall itself is 29 x 48 m.
The hall has facilities (and
courts marked) for many dif-
ferent sports, as well as a pit
for use in gymnastics.
Page 46
Viöey Island Competition
A competition was
held by the City of Reykjavík
on ideas for usingViðey
Island, just off-shore from the
capital. The scheme aims to
preserve the island mainly in
its present natural state, Foot-
paths will lead to places of
interest, and an exhibition
could be set up on archeol-
ogical finds on the
island. No mechanical
means of transport are visual-
ised for the island, but horse-
drawn vehicles would pro-
vide transport. The old pier
would be replaced by a new
harbour where Viðey's físhing
hamlet once stood. This ham-
let would also be the loca-
tion of a maritime museum.
Page 51
Corrugated Iron Blues
Sigurður Einarsson
looks back to the old corru-
gated-iron clad houses of
lceland, long despised after
the beginning of the con-
crete age. He points
out that corrugated iron sid-
ing still has its virtues, which
are often overlooked.
Page 57
Why the Turnkey Con-
tract?
Jónas Frímannsson
discusses the practical as-
pects of the turnkey con-
tract, which has enjoyed
growing popularity in lceland
in recent years. He refers to
his own experience with con-
tractors ístak on four projects:
a primary school in Reykjavík,
a new building for the Univer-
sity of lceland, a paint
factory and office, and serv-
ices building (offices, can-
teen, research laboratories,
apartments) at the Grundar-
tangi ferro-silicon plant, W.
Iceland.
Page 60
On the Drawing Board:
The Kjarval Museum
The planned new
Kjarval Museum, to be built
close to the Kjarvalsstaðir
ArtMuseum in Reykjavík, is to
be constructed under the
centre of the Miklatún public
garden, and approached by
an underground passage
from Kjarvalsstaðir, where
various objects relating to
the artist will be displayed,
preparing the visitor for the
art exhibition. The roof of the
new museum will be devel-
oped as a piazza, with a
pond of hot water and a
"mountain".
Page 67
Form Ísland-Nord Form
Form ísland is an um-
brella organisation, founded
in 1985, which aims to en-
courage and publicise good
lcelandic design in every
field. This year Form ísland will
participate in the exhibition
NordForm in Malmö in June
to September. Among struc-
tures which will be built on
the exhibition site are row-
house designs by Nordic
architects, including lce-
landic architect Guðmundur
Jónsson.
Page 71
Light Concrete
Haraldur Ásgeirsson
writes about the qualities of
"light concrete"
made wjth pumice or scoria.
Light concrete was used in
parts of the structure of tne
Hóskólabíó cinema in
Reykjavík, and also in the
underground car park of the
City Theatre. The Building Re-
search Insitute is investigating
the qualities of light
concrete„using a building of
the material which was com-
pleted in spring 1988. Light
concrete is also highly suit-
able for various smaller ob-
jects, such as garden
benches, tables, etc.
Page 74
Planning and Develop-
ment
Architect Geirharður
Þorsteinsson takes a critical
look at statistics on density of
population in Reykjavík from
1920 to the 1980's. Although
average density of popula-
tion in the city has dropped
from 200 to 60 per hectare,
something has been lost in
the move from small, low,
buildings to large, widely-
spaced ones.
Page 81
Two New Towns in the USA
The Reykjavík Plan-
ning Committee visited two
New Towns, built by private
enterprise - Reston and Co-
lumbia, on their trip to the US
in April 1989. The Rouse com-
pany built Columbia, in
Maryland, The first residents
moved into the new town in
1967. It is composed of a
number of small "villages" or
units of about 6-10 thousand,
each with its own services.
The development of Reston,
Virginia, by Robert E. Simon
began in 1964. After a de-
tailed plan for zoning and
development had been
made, many different con-
tractors built and sold sec-
tions of the new town, giving
it a varied and lively
appearance.
Page 84
Open-air Works of Art and
their Environment
Art historian
Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson consid-
ers the locations of various
statues and monuments in
Reykjavík. Some have been
placed in a perfect context
with regard to subject and
how they are seen, while
some are clearly out of pro-
portion with their settings, or
totally out of context, such as
Sigurjón Ólafsson's bas-relief
"Stacking Saltfish", mounted
in the middle of an open
area near the Seamen's
College, when the artist's
clear intention was that it
should be the wall-decora-
tion of a fish-processing
plant. Many symbolic and
abstract works have suffered
especially from official indif-
ference to their
setting.
Page 88
THE NEW SJÓVÁ-
ALMENNAR BUILDING
Architect Ingimundur
Sveinsson writes about his de-
sign for a building at Kringlan
5 in Reykjavík, recently
opened after one and a half
years under construction.
Simplicity of form is the key-
note of the building, but it
also aims to reflect the im-
age of the insurance com-
pany for which it is built, an
image of solidity and perma-
nence. The design is based
on the interreaction of the
cube, circle and triangle. It is
seven storeys high, and clad
in blue-grey granite from
Germany. Consturction costs
at January 1990 price levels
are about ISK 100.000 per SQ.
metre. ■
79