AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.04.1997, Blaðsíða 62

ENGLISH SUMMARY
This issue of AVS focuses on the State
Housing Institute, which is forty years
old this year.
PAGE 9 40 YEARS OF THE STATE
HOUSING INSTITUTE
Editor Gestur Olafsson discusses the
important role that the State Housing
Institute has played in the construction
of good-quality housing for the
Icelandic nation. He also points out that
acquiring a roof over one's head is
expensive, and that the average debt on
residential housing has risen from 20%
to 60% in 16 years. Financial institu-
tions alone, he says, cannot perform the
work of the State Housing Institute.
PAGE 10 THE STATE HOUSING
INSTITUTE IN PAST AND
FUTURE
The State Housing Institute was found-
ed 40 years ago, with the objective of
achieving a good standard of housing
for the Icelandic nation, and it has done
so, although its methods and its loan
system have been altered repeatedly
over the period. The most recent
changes are the opening af a consultan-
cy service, to provide advice to those in
financial difficulties, and the switch to a
"housing bond" loan system in 1987.
The loans provided by the institute have
also made an important contribution to
the economy by injecting money into
the building industry. The institute still
has a vital role to play, in ensuring good
design of homes and economical con-
struction, access of young people to
loans for home buying, special consid-
eration of minority groups, district plan-
ning with regard to environmental and
aesthetic standards, and design in keep-
ing with the harshness of the climate.
PAGE 13 THE HISTORY OF THE
STATE HOUSING INSTITUTE
FOR 40 YEARS, 1957-1997
Sigurjón Olafsson recounts the history
of the State Housing Institute, which
was founded in 1957, although a loan
system for home builders had existed
since 1952. The Institute's role is to
loan money for building or purchasing
homes, as well as loans for those in
financial difficulties, maintenance and
improvement loans, etc. The social
function of the institute increased in the
1960s, with an increase in funding. In
1989 the institute stopped making direct
loans for purchase of homes, and the
"housing bond" system, whereby the
institute acts as a guarantor, was intro-
duced. This offers the possibility of bor-
rowing up to 70% of the price of the
property. In addition, the institute is
involved in developing new building
technology, often in collaboration with
the Icelandic Research Council and the
Building Research Institute. The future
of the institute is in some doubt at pre-
sent, as the present government wishes
to transfer administration of the hous-
ing-bond system to the banks.
PAGE 20 THE STATE HOUSING
INSTITUTE -40YEARSOLD
When the State Housing Institute was
founded, a design department was set
up, to draw plans of proposed homes,
and in due course plans of standardised
homes were sold at a low price. Cost
estimates, together with detailed lists of
all that was required in the building,
were also provided. Initially, loans cov-
ered only 20% of costs, and most home-
builders did much of the work them-
selves; they could look to the institute
for advice. Institute staff also travelled
around the country and examined the
buildings that had been constructed to
plans from the institute.
In 1974 the design department became
the Technical Division, whose aim was
to create a more consistent and reliable
set of standards. It created standardised
tender documents and specifications,
and collected information on the con-
struction costs of buildings. The insti-
tute's drawing over the years show the
changing trends, e.g. flat roofs around
1965. In 1974, apartment buildings
were being designed that allowed for
considerable variation, e.g. in size of
apartment. The institute also undertook
specialised design projects, e.g. apart-
ment for the elderly. A total of 6, 669
homes have been built to institute
designs. The institute has also published
many useful books, and operates an
consultancy service (part of the
Technical Division).
PAGE 31 PHYSICAL PLANNING
AGENCY STATE HOUSING INSTI-
TUTE
Sigurður Thoroddsen, Deputy Head of
Planning, writes about the interaction of
the two agencies. In the early days, there
was little monitoring of the location of
building work, so a design that had been
provided for one site might be built on
another. Although the Physical
Planning Agency was not involved in
day-to-day planning decisions, it was
brought in, for instance, if the plan for a
certain area had to be adapted to allow
for certain buildings: e.g. homes built
within the subsidised loan system had to
be in apartment blocks, while some
communities were planned exclusively
with one-family homes in mind. The
Physical Planning Agency and State
Housing Institute together have played
an enormous role in shaping the com-
munities of Iceland today.
PAGE 34 ARCHITECTS' CODE OF
ETHICS
The present code of ethics of the
Icelandic Architects' Association dates
from 1956, and addresses only the ques-
tion of the architect's responsibility to
the client and to his/her fellow-archi-
tects. Answerability to society in gener-
al, and to other consultants, designers
and others, is not a part of the code.
Ethical question that have arisen within
the architects' association have general-
ly been concemed with conflicts of
interest and possible undue influence.
The existing code is clearly obsolete,
and a new code of ethics is now in pro-
cess of formation.
60