AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.03.1993, Side 110

ENGLISH SUMMARY
PAGE 9 Editorial: Keeping in Touch with Time
Editor Gestur Ólafsson bids farewell to the periodical
Arkitektúr og skipulag (Architecture and Planning) and
announcesanew one, Arkitektúr, verktœkni og skipulag
(Architecture, Engineering and Planning). This has been
made possible by an agreement between the publisher,
the Association of Chartered Engineers and the Society
of Engineers. Looking ahead to the forthcoming era of
internationalcompetition.hearguesthatunityisstrength
and urges more collaboration between the technical
and design fields.
PAGE 10
Vífill Oddsson, chairman of the Association of Chartered
Engineers, looks back over the association's first 25
years. He suggests that engineers should not regard it
as beneath their dignity to publicise themselves, in the
lesssecureemploymentenvironmentwhichliesahead,
PAGE11
EiríkurÞorbjörnsson.chairmanoftheSocietyofEngineers,
welcomesthe publication of Architecture, Engineering
and Planning. The two engineers' associations have
hitherto jointly published the periodical Verktcekni. He
discusses growing unemployment among engineers,
and laments the present policy of cutbacks in higher
education asshortsighted. Hediscussesthe international
standards for engineers being introduced under the
aegis of FEANI. He discusses the possibility of the two
engineers' societies merging in the future.
PAGE 17 Workers’ Homes in Reykjavík
The building of low-cost subsidised "workers' homes"
originated in the serious housing shortage in Reykjavík in
the early years of this century, as people flooded into
the town, which could not house them adequately.
Following a handful of experimental housing projects,
the first legislation on workers' homes was passed in
1929.
The author gives a brief historical survey of the
development of workers' homes since the 1930s, in the
context of a newly-completed competition for the
latest such housing development (see page 25).
The "workers' homes" of the 1930s, some of which are
typical of functionalist style, were terraced houses
designed around a central garden/play area. In the
1940s, designers opted for small individual units of 4 to
6 apartments. The 1950s saw a tendency towards larger
units, four-floor blocks of up to 32 flats. This reached a
high point in the 1960s and early 1970s, when huge
developments of workers' homes were built in the new
suburb, Breiöholt. These large developments were in
many ways technically innovative, using pre-cast units
incombinationwithconcretecaston-site. Bythe 1980s,
the trend was back towards smaller units, and away
from large developments of low-cost housing. Planners
aimed for a more even social mix, by interspersing
groups of subsidized housing wifh other residential
developments.
PAGE 25 A Competition for a District Plan and Owner-
occupied Subsidised Housing
The competition, held in 1992, was for a new
developmentofsubsidized low-costhomesin Reykjavík.
The competition was held in two stages: an open
competition where the primary emphasis was on the
overall plan, building type and the links between
buildings and open areas. Thirty-seven designs were
entered. In the second stage, the judges chose five
designs forfurther development. The specifications for
the competition emphasised such aspects as: the overall
design from the architectural and planning viewpoint,
theefficientplanningofdensehousing.theadaptation
of the plan to the topography of the site, the organisation
of outside areas like play areas, car parking, pedestrian
links, the qualities of the homes (arrangement, depth of
buildings, light and views) and an economic approach
to costs.
Placed first was the design submitted by architects
Þorsteinn Helgason and Hörður Harðarson (pages 26-
29). The judges were pleased with the general design of
the area as well as the specifics of individual buildings,
and praised the architects' response in stage 2 to the
recommendations made after stage 1. The judges
recommended thatthe area be developed according
to this plan.
In second place was the design submitted by architects
Sigurður Halldórsson, Sigbjörn Kjartansson, Hans-Olav
Andersen and Sigríður Magnúsdóttir (pages 30-32).
Three more designs tied for 3rd to 5th place (pages 33-
41). A further three entries were commended (pages
42-47), and five were judged to be deserving of further
scrutiny (pages 48-57).
PAGE 59 Building Management Systems
Engineer Þröstur Helgason writes about computerised
building management systems (air-conditioning, fire
alarm, security, etc.), which enable a caretaker, for
instance, to keep a constant watch on many different
factors all over a building, as well as controlling lighting,
heat, humidity, etc. The author points out that this kind
of system is not only suitable for large office buildings,
but can be as easily applied to smaller units,, or groups
of buildings, with a view to economising on energy, as
well as monitoring possible problems with plumbing,
electricity, etc.
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