AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.03.2003, Page 72

Guðjón Bjarnason, Architect and Artist
The New
House
Mýrargötu 26,
The housing form
redefined
The proposed development at
Myrargata 26 is inspired by the
common social form found in large
cities, such as London and New
York, where industrial space has
been converted with excellent
results into artists' studios to start
with and subsequently into flats.
Whole areas have been developed
in this way, such as the Soho and
Chelsea neighborhoods in New
York City. Theseareas and buildings
have, without exception, become
very sought after over
time, as it is rare that flats are all at
once spacious, with good floor-to-
ceiling height, large windows and in
central areas of cultural cities. The
buildings themselves often con-
tribute to the artistic and cultural
environment and artists and innova-
tors of bygone days have also often
left warehouses behind with colour-
ful histories.
This development by HUGSMÍÐ
and Guðjón Bjarnason, designer in
charge, has reference to the cultur-
al history and experience from
alterations to harbour warehouses
in many countries. The designers
used the job title “the New York
House” or NY and the name has
stuck to the building, as it is not
uncommon to name buildings and
farms after major cities abroad.
In the first phase of the NY House,
which is little less than 8,000 m2 in
area, there will be approximately 40
York
101 R
lofts, with sizes ranging from 75 -
160m2. The studio apartments on
the second floor have a 4m floor-
to-ceiling height, and the third floor
apartments are 5,7m tall. The 18
studio-apartments with 6m floor-to-
ceiling height each have a 35m2
mezzanine area with a large win-
dow facing the pedestrian street
inside with a skylight. In the front
building with the main entrance
from Mýrargata there will be some
13 smaller studios and offices and
a coffee bar in the south west cor-
ner directly connected to the lobby.
The front of the building was
designed in 1971 by architect
Sigvaldi Thordarson and the rede-
velopment pays homage to him,
except that his carry-yellow trade-
mark is given an bright, orange
punk colour. By the southeastern
corner of the building, there is a
300m2 space with 6m tall windows.
This space is connected to the
2000m2 space on the ground floor
and is well suited for a shop or a
museum of some sort. In this
space, it is possible to create a
very varied spatial feeling necessary
in museums.
The lofts are as simple as possible.
The main emphasis is on good
floor-to-ceiling height, view and
spatial feeling, the rest being mod-
estly left to the users. The windows
are as large as possible, 16-20m2
and with as few mullions as possi-
ble. Protruding “French balconies”
are connected to balconies with
lighting above, intended to bring
light for the darker parts c. the year.
Guðjón and his office have tried to
make use of the latest building
technology and simplification to
create the largest space for the
maximum economy but despite this
to give the modern common areas
and lobby a lively and light, ener-
getic look.The lofts feature small,
expandable kitchens and very large
bathrooms. These lofts are excep-
tional in this country in the way the
service spaces are planned. The
bathroom faces the access area
and kitchen the main space result-
ing in increased space within each
unit. This is in keeping with the
social development where more
and more groups of people work
creatively at home. The NY building
will be fitted with a computer net-
work so that it will be possible to
work with a wireless connection
from all parts of the building, within
apartments, in the concourse,
lobby, coffee bar or the roof of the
building as and when it suits the
individual. The lift is designed to
enable large units to be moved and
is thus very suitable for artists. It
connects to a roof garden, where a
recreation area with a running track
has been designed with other
health facilities. The New York
House will feature a spacious lobby
and sitting area. A doorman provid-
ing miscellaneous services to resi-
dents and small businesses will be
in charge of the lobby, giving the
additional feeling of a hotel.
The common corridors are most
spacious, 4,5m wide both with floor
lighting, 24 hours a day and timed
ceiling lighting. Each apartment has
a small vestibule connected to the
common part. The corridors will
look like outdoor pedestrian walk-
ways with the above lighting, use of
rough boardwalks, skylights from
the large roof windows, vegetation,
and a drinking fountain. The rough
quality of the industrial building will
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