AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.12.1997, Blaðsíða 53

R Y
ENGLISH SUMMA
availability of enough people with spe-
cialised thechnical and engineering
training. It is vital for Icelandic com-
panies to be able to compete on a fair
basis with those in other countries. He
argues that as much technical work as
possible should be carried out on a free-
market basis, and not by departments
within state bodies, as consultant engi-
neers thus gain varied experience, and
are able to undertake a wide range of
projects. He points out that Icelandic
companies need to have better access to
intemational loan funds, and mentions
the potential of development aid pro-
jects in the geothermal field.
PAGE 48 ARCHITECTS: AN
UNDERVALUED RESOURCE
Architect Hilmar Þ. Björnsson suggests
that architectsss and their training are
undervalued in general in Iceland ato-
day. The Association of Icelandic
Architects now has about 318 members,
and 12-13 architects have graduated
annually in recent times, but now the
number of architects is falling. Hilmar
suggests that Icelandic architectural
expertise, regarding e.g. Winter Cities,
fish-processing plants, power plants,
etc. could prove exportable in the
future. He feels that architects must seek
work at the intemational level, and that
architectural studios (mostly compris-
ing 1 to 4 people) should merge to form
larger units, that can undertake a larger
range of projects.
PAGE 53 "THE NEW ICELAND"
AND THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
Stefán Thors, Director of the Physical
Planning Agency, writes about the cur-
rent proposals for planning of the cen-
tral highlands (discussed in the last
issue of AVS), and the attack made on
them by Trausti Valsson and Birgir in
their new book ísland hið nýja (they
answer in the following article, on page
58). He discusses their argument that
nature conservation has been given too
much priority over utilisation of
resources in the highlands, and that it is
unreasonable to entrust the planning of
40%of the country to a small group of
people from the surrounding rural areas.
He defends the plan, while admitting
that policy-making in various fields
requires more work, and he points out
that any plan will be subject to constant
review.
PAGE 58 ADOPTATION OF THE
PLAN FOR THE CENTRAL HIGH-
LANDS IS PREMATLRE
Planner Trausti Valsson and engineer
Birgir Jónsson answer Stefán Thors’
article on the plan for the central high-
lands and their book(see above, page
53).They feel that the plan has a bubious
legal basis as regards jurisdiction over
the highlands (40%of the country) and
that it has not been sufficiently publi-
cised for public debate. They question
the wisdom of classifying large regions
for conservation, and they feel that it is
premature to finalise a plan for the high-
Iands when the legal question of who
„owns" the highlands remains unre-
solved. They suggest that plans could be
completed initially for certain sections
of the highlands.
PAGE 63 NEW REGLLATIONS
FROM 1 JANUARY 1998
Stefán Thors, director of the Physical
Planning Agency, writes about new
planning and building regulations that
come into force on 1 January 1998.
Under the terms of the regulations, only
those with specialist training may carry
out planning work, and planning is sub-
ject to strict requirements regarding e.g.
factors to be taken into account, and the
form in which the plan is presented. The
new building regulations define projects
which are subject to building permis-
sion, and specify such requirements as
access for the handicapped, and installa-
tion of elevators.
PAGE 66 ROYAL POLAR-BEAR
COMPANY AT HAMMERFEST
Architect Guðmundur Jónsson writes
about his design for a new building for
the Royal Polar-Bear Company at
Hammerfest in Norway, the most
northerly city in the world, at 70°N-
PAGE 69 ARCHITECTLRE FOR
THE FAMILY
Architect Javier Sanchez Merina writes
about architecture for individuals and
families, adaptable to their own require-
ments, and that way architects are mov-
ing away from the idea of standardised
homes for statistically typical families.
PAGE 77 CLLTLRE IN BLILDING
Artist Kristinn Hrafnsson laments the
fact that architects and artists do not
succeed in working together to create a
live environment - works of art are used
as "decoration” rather than existing on
their own terms.
PAGE 82 ENLARGEMENT OF
THE AKUREYRI BOTANICAL
GARDEN
This is the final thesis project of land-
scape architect Hermann Georg
Gunnlaugsson from Fachhochschule
Weihenstaphan in Germany. The botan-
ical garden in Akureyri, north Iceland,
was founded in 1912, and its present
area is 4 ha. Adjacent land, attached to
the grammar school and hospital offers
the possibility of expansion, and these
areas would also be used by the school
and hospital.
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