AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.03.1998, Qupperneq 65

E N G L I
S H
S U
M M A R Y
long term. Icelanders, they say, tend to
be stuck in the past with the sagas and
old glories, but in fact Iceland is a young
culture that needs building up. They
urge Icelanders not to have an inferiori-
ty complex,, but to pursue their own cul-
ture honestly - and without resorting to
parades of "Vikings".
PAGE 36 THE ÍSARK AND NORD-
ISK ARKITEKTURAKADEMI
WORKSHOP
Architect Harpa Stefánsdóttir, chair of
ÍSARK, the Icelandic School of
Architecture, writes about the school,
which was founded n 1994, as the first
step towards offering architectural
training in Iceland. NORDISK ARKI-
TEKTURAKADEMI, the federation of
Nordic architectural schools, will hold
its annual workshop in Iceland in 2000:
students from each country prepare a
project, then come together for a week's
workshop, which ends with a show of
their work.
PAGE 39 COMPETITION FOR
OUTDOOR WORKS OF ART
Guðrún Jónsdóttir, chair of the City of
Reykjavík Arts Committee, describes a
competition which is being held in col-
laboration with SÍM, the Federation of
Icelandic Visual Artists, for open-air
works of art in Reykjavík. Initially, all
members of SÍM will be eligible to
enter. Five works will be awarded
prizes, and one will be chosen for fur-
ther development and erection, prefer-
ably by 2000.
PAGE 44 FINAL PROJECT FROM
ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE IN
SPAIN
Orri Amason chose to study architec-
ture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de
Arquitectura in Madrid. He points out in
his article that most students took 10 to
11 eleven years to complete their stud-
tes, which are very wide-ranging, as
Spanish architects are expected to bear
complete responsibility for every aspect
of buildings they design. Orri's project
is a wine factory.
PAGE 48 TADAO ANDO
Mario Bordicchio and Guðfinna Ósk
Erlingsdóttir write abut Japanese archi-
tect Tadao Ando, who seeks out his own
projects rather than accepting commis-
sions: he sees the potential for a certain
project, then submits the idea to the
authorities. Many of his works are of a
religious nature.
PAGE 49 NEW BOOKS
Review of Byboligen, Pá vei mot en ny
byform, on the renewal of old town dis-
tricts.
PAGE 50 ERGONOMICS: STATUS
AT WORK
Physiotherapist Þórunn Sveinsdóttir
writes about the importance of correct
posture and movement when working,
to minimise strain on e.g. neck, wrists
and back. The height and arrangement
of the work surface are of great impor-
tance.
PAGE 53 CONSTRUCTION CON-
FERENCE 1997
The annual Construction Conference
was held last October, on the theme
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
BUILDINGS. Brian Edwards from
Huddersfield University in England was
guest lecturer.
PAGE 55 PANEL REPORT ON A
CONCERT HALL
Architect Guðmundur Jónsson com-
ments on the report on a planned concert
hall made by a joint panel appointed by
the state and the City of Reykjavík. He
is the winner of a competition to design
a concert hall, held in 1986. He feels
that the panel's report concentrates too
much on the financial aspects of the
concert hall's operations - such as com-
bining it with conference facilities - and
not enough on other aspects of a good
concert hall. He objects strongly to the
idea of building the hall underground,
both for practical reasons (acoustics,
damp) and human ones (claustropho-
bia). The site adjacent to Hotel Saga is
too small. The Laugardalur site, on the
other hand, could be arranged to provide
conference facilities in connection with
nearby hotels. He feels that the question
of the location of the concert hall should
be considered better.
PAGE 64 WHEN THE FIREWORK
DISPLAY IS OVER
Architect Dennis Jóhannesson writes
about the participation of the Associ-
ation of Icelandic Architects in the
Cultural City project in 2000. The
Association is represented on the con-
sulting committee to plan events for
2000, and various projects have been
suggested by individual members. The
author stresses the importance of the
interplay of man and nature and pre-
serving Iceland's unspoiled environ-
ment.
PAGE67 NORDREGIO
Planner Ingibjörg R. Guðlaugsdóttir of
the Reykjavík City Planning Office
writes about Nordregio, the Nordic
Centre for Spatial Development, which
was founded in 1997 to deal with spatial
development in a broad sense: regional
policy and physical development. All
the Nordic countries are represented.
Further information from the address at
the bottom of page 67.
PAGE 68 NEW WORKS BY
GUÐJÓN BJARNASON
Critic Jón Proppé writes about the paint-
ings and sculptures of Guðjón
Bjarnason, which he feels combine for-
malism with chaos.
PAGE70 OFFICES
Interior designer Elsa Ævarsdóttir
writes about office design at a time
when new technology demands con-
stant change. Office design must be
flexible, and take into account the effect
on the worker, the stimulus of interac-
tion with other workers, etc. ■
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