Atlantica - 01.06.2011, Page 27

A t L A n t i c A 25
With new quality restaurants and
designer shops in beautifully
restored buildings from the early
19th and 20th centuries, Reykjavík’s city cen-
ter has never looked better. After four long
years, the wound on the city’s face has finally
healed. The buildings stand on the most promi-
nent corner of the city center, joining the
bustling Austurstraeti Square with the main
streets Bankastraeti and Laugavegur; overlook-
ing for example the new concert hall Harpa,
the Government Offices and the District Court
House.
In the wake of the shocking fire of April 2007,
the Municipality held a competition, inviting
suggestions for the site’s reconstruction. The
chosen proposal aimed to honor the past by
rebuilding the houses in their original form. In
May 2008, shortly after the City acquired the
buildings and the entire site, the resurrection
was set in motion. After archeological research
had been conducted, construction began in
June 2009 and has now been completed. At a
total of 2,600 square meters, the three new
buildings are approximately double the size
of the former ones. Underneath them all is an
810 square meter basement with a ceiling 3.5
meters high.