AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.04.2002, Side 21

of new shopping and service space can be added in
Laugavegur (the shopping centre Kringlan is today
52,000 m2).
Several aspects of the townscape of Reykjavík make
it a very special city, and this should be preserved. The
city is not made of continuous terraces with streets like
many old cities, but has its individuality, beauty and
variety, which we would like to retain. At the same time,
we would also like to be innovative and daring where
we can.
In preparatory work for planning, there is close coop-
eration between the City Engineer (Department of
Environment and Technology) and with the office of the
Harbour Director for areas on or near to the harbour. An
emphasis has been put on public exhibition of the plans
for the inhabitants and interested parties and participa-
tion as possible. Before formal planning of an area is
undertaken, all residents and interested parties receive
a review of the plan where their comments are invited.
When a preliminary plan is finished, it is often shown to
interested parties and the plan is also exhibited when it
has received an outline approval. Finally, the local plan
is advertised, as required by law, and written notices
asked for before it is approved by the city authorities.
All this planning activity has put the planning law and
regulations from 1998 to the test. In practice, it was
intended that the power to prepare local plans should
be given to local authorities, but several strings are still
tied to the State Planning Institute. In some instances,
it is necessary to realise that the Capital Area is in
many respects different from smaller towns in lceland,
and this should be reflected in the planning law and
regulations.
Thoughtful planning of the City Centre and other
areas, is a necessary foundation for the development,
maintenance, redevelopment and overall environment
for future generations.
Local plans for new areas
Local plans are being prepared for many areas of the
city, both in already-built areas due to redevelopment
needs and for unbuilt sites for future development.
When an idea competition was held for the planning
of Grafarholt in 1996, it was the first time an urban area
was planned east of Vesturlandsvegur. The intention of
the competition was to give the first prize to a proposal
which would act as a framework for the planning of the
area, and the top three teams would be asked to pre-
pare local plans for parts of the area.
First place was awarded to architects Hörður
Harðarson and Þorsteinn Helgason. The “Kanon archi-
tects” received second place, and architects
Guðmundur Gunnarsson and Sveinn ívarsson took
third.
These practices have since worked on local plans
within the structure plan for Grafarholt. The main idea
of plan’s structure, a main road (Kristnibraut) along the
middle of the hill, has been carried out and service
activities have been planned along this road extending
from the geothermal water tanks to Reynisvatn lake.
Grafarholt will have a total of 1,500 flats and the west-
ern part of the hill is now under rapid developed. The
sites on the eastern part, for approximately 900 flats,
are now being disposed of.
When the local planning of Grafarholt was complet-
ed, it was clear that the next areas to be planned would
be on the south sides of the Úlfarsfell mountain, on the
other side of the Úrfarsá river locally called Halla- and
Hamrahlíðarlönd, all in all some 130 ha. Before the
planning could commence, it was decided to enlarge
the planning area along the south sides of Úlfarsfell
and along the banks of Úlfarsá, all the way to
Hafravatn. This land became part of Reykjavík in a land
exchange between Reykjavík and Mosfellsbær. With
this addition, the planning area grew to some 450 ha.
This enlargement resulted in one of the largest contin-
uous planning area of the capital, and certainly the
most desirable development area of the city. The plan-
ning of this area was therefore a very important under-
taking.
In light of experience gained from Grafarholt, a simi-
lar methodology was used. The goal was to prepare a
structure plan for the whole area embodying the main
objectives of the plan and then preparing local plans for
individual areas within this framework as necessary. In
this way, it would be possible to obtain an overview and
prepare plans and preliminary designs in advance of
local plans for individual districts.
In an advertised pre-selection, six planning groups
were selected to take part in proposals for comparison
where one proposal would be selected as the basis for
the structure plan. Other selected groups would then
have the opportunity to later work on the local plans for
each area. The groups selected to participate were:
The architectural practice “Úti og inni” with “Landslag
ehf” and “VSB” engineers, the architectural practice
“Tröð”, and “Kanon” architects. Björn Ólafs and “VA”
architects. “Teiknistofan Ármúla”. “Batteríið” architects
with “Landmótun ehf’ and “VST” engineers. “Teikni-
stofa arkitekta, Gylfi Guðjónsson og félagar” with
“Landark” landscape architects.
The pre-selection took place under the direction of
Árni Þór Sigurðsson, Chairman of the Planning and
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