AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.08.1997, Qupperneq 60

S U M M A R Y
E N G L I
This issue of AVS focusses on leisure
facilities, for which there has been a
growing need and demand, with
increased prosperity and leisure
time.
PAGE 10 LEISURE FACILITIES - THE CITY
OF REYKJAVÍK
The City of Reykjavík is involved in a
large variety of leisure, sports and
social activities, in planning, con-
struction, operation of buildings, pro-
viding services, etc. Sports activities
began when a geothermal spring
was dammed to make a swimming
pool in 1824, and the first gymnasium
was built in 1858. This was followed by
the founding of a number of sporting
clubs, and the flrst sports stadium
opened in 1911. The Laugardalur
park and botanical garden was
founded in 1943. The City offers activ-
ities for young people at a number of
youth centres around the city. It oper-
ates flve swimming pools, four large
sports halls, a skating rink, sports sta-
dia, and an equestrian sports facility,
and also participates in the opera-
tion of three skiing areas in the moun-
tains adjacent to Reykjavík. New pro-
jects in the social sector include cen-
tres for young people and for immi-
grants. The total cost in 1997 is about
ISKL200 million, and investments in
this sector for the year are about
ISK350 million. In recent years the
emphasis has ben on developing
facilities within each district, as well as
building up links between the dis-
tricts, e.g. footpaths. There is growing
public demand for activity, and also
more need, e.g. for facilities for chil-
dren, now that most mothers are in
paid employment. In the latest city
plan, the declared aim is to preserve
the open areas of the city for outdoor
activities.
PAGE 18 THE BLUE LAGOON
Ormar Þór Guðmundsson writes
about the "Blue Lagoon," which is
formed by the run-off water from a
geothermal power plant. This was not
intended to be a bathing location,
but became popular, especially
because of the medicinal properties
of the hot water. This led to the con-
struction of various facilities for
bathers, with the aim of preserving
the wild and strange environment of
the lagoon.
S H
PAGE 20 NEW CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
IN CENTRAL REYKJAVÍK
Architect Guðrún Jónsdóttír writes
about the way a city reflects its past,
and how the centre of Reykjavík has
been affected by social develop-
ments. She refers to Christopher
Alexander, who in 1965 questioned
the value of zoning in city planning,
which he says leads to disconnection
and alienation. A decision has now
been made to move various institu-
tions into the centre of the town, e.g,
library, museums, galleries. This should
draw people into the centre and cre-
ate new connections.
PAGE 23 INDOOR ATHLETICS FACILI-
TIES
Jónas Egilsson, chair of the lcelandic
Athletic Association, writes about the
need for indoor facilities for athletics,
for training and competition - which
he says should be included in the
new sports/exhibition hall in Reykja-
vík, due to be built within a few years.
The only indoor facility for athletics is
40 years old, and during competi-
tions temporary facilities have had to
be installed in large sports halls. The
author details the IAAF standards for
competitive facilities in athletics, and
says that these must be taken into
account in the planning of the new
hall. He argues that it makes more
sense to build a multi-purpose facility
than a specialised one, e.g. for
indoor football.
PAGE 26 DALVÍK SWIMMING POOL
Engineer Anton Brynjarsson writes
about the new swimming pool at
Dalvík, which includes a 25 x 12.5 m
swimming pool, paddling pools, and
warm basking pools, from where par-
ents can keep an eye on their chil-
dren. The pool has surveillance cam-
eras both above and below the
water, and a computerised system
controls the water flow and air condi-
tioning. Materials in the building,
designed by Fanney Hauksdóftir, are
chosen to be low-maintenance.
PAGE 28 LEISURE FACILITIES
Architect Jes Einar Þorsteinsson writes
about the development of varied
and multi-purpose sports and leisure
facilities, which enable people to
participate in a wide variety of activ-
ities. He specifies the example of the
town of Borgarnes, where a small
open-air swimming pool was subse-
quently roofed in, foilowed by the
building of a sports hall and stadium.
When natural hot water became
available, a new open-air pool could
be added. Walking/jogging tracks
have also been laid out.
PAGE 30 DEVELOPMENT IN LAUGAR-
DALUR
In 1943, the Reykjavík Town Council
decided to make Laugardalur a
sports and outdoor area for the
inhabitants of the city; the area of the
valley is about 256 hectares. The sta-
dium, on which work began in 1947, is
of Olympic size, with a football field
surrounded by a 400m running track.
The original grandstand had 3,500
seats, with standing room for 9,000. A
new grandstand was added last
year, with 3,500 seats; it was built of
pre-cast units, with a roof of aluzinc.
The Laugardalshöll sports/exhibition
hall, built in 1961-65, has a total area
of 2,915m2. When it was built, its roof
was one of the largest domes in
Europe. The question of extending
the hall has been discussed, both for
exhibitions, and for larger sports
events. An extension built in 1995 will
serve as a link to a new building,
which will be large enough to house
football matches.
PAGE 37 DRAINS, PAST AND PRESENT
Engineer Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson writes
about the history of Reykjavík's drains
and sewers. He traces the history of
water supplies and drains from
ancient Babylon via the Greeks and
Romans, and mentions the first water
closet, invented by Sir John Harring-
ton. When Reykjavík began to grow
into a town, the brook that ran
through it became the town drain,
and primitive drains were subse-
quently dug along the streets. In
1911, municipal authorities made the
first regulations on sewers, and built
over the brook. For many more years,
sewage simply flowed into the sea,
but it became clear that this was
causing pollution on the shore, and in
recent years a new system of filtration
has been under construction in the
city. Since Reykjavík is a relatively
small town, and waste goes into the
sea, only one stage of filtration is
required at present by EU standards,
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