The square which occupies the space in front of Harpa, the newly-opened concert and conference centre in Reykjavík, has won a prize at the Swedish architecture conference Arkitekturmässan (in Swedish), which was held for the first time this year between 24th and 26th October. The organisers of the event intend to carve out a niche and make it the largest annual Nordic event for architects, landscape architects and urban planners.

The square by Harpa picked up the prize for Best Nordic Public Space. Landscape architect Þráinn Hauksson at the firm Landslag received the prize on behalf of the company’s design team, who developed the square in co-operation with architecture firm Batteríð. Henning Larsen Architects and artist Ólafur Elíasson also collaborated on the project.

According to Landslag “the design of the square was conceived with a view to the history of the area as an unspoilt shore, where the stream [the one which currently runs under the street Lækjargata] ran to the sea in the harbour area. Reflective ponds create an island feeling far removed from the surrounding busy streets. The bridges over the ponds are a reminder of the jetties which once jutted into the sea here. The square is divided into three areas: an arrival square, a multi-purpose square and a waiting area in a nook formed by the building facing the sun and providing shelter.”

Source: Vísir
Image: Landslag

Labels: Architecture, Harpa

As previously reported on mbl.is, the first concert in the new Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre will be held on 4th May next year. Vladimir Ashkenazy will be the first performer, leading the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra as he so often does.

The main hall at Harpa will accommodate around eighteen hundred guests in its seats. Such is the demand that it has now been completely booked from the opening date until Christmas 2011, according to Pétur J. Eiríksson, chairman of Portus Group, who has been overseeing the construction of the venue.

For the next 35 years, the state and the City of Reykjavík will pay just under one billion krónur a year to pay for the construction of Harpa. Pétur says that the final cost of construction for the building will stand at 17.7 billion krónur. The government will not take over operations initially, rather at some time in the future. “We are predicting positive cash flow soon, in the third year. Until that time, we will need to finance the running costs.”

The project was controversially funded by the government after the bank collapse, who promised that they would secure all the funding necessary to complete the project. After construction came to a stop in 2008, it since resumed in 2009 and is expected to be completed early next year.

Source: mbl.is
Image: harpa.is

Labels: Harpa

A new management team has been hired to run the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, where construction has been progressing rapidly over the last few weeks (image from April this year). Karitas Kjartansdóttir has been chosen as the conference programme manager, Páll S. Ragnarsson has been hired as technical lighting director and Ingvar Jónsson has been selected for technical sound director.

Karitas worked previously as a business manager in asset management at VBS investment bank, and before that as sales manager for conferences at Icelandair Hotels. She has a BSc in business from the University of Iceland and an MBA from Reykjavík University.

Páll has recently been working as lighting engineer and designer for the Icelandic Opera, and for many years before that at the National Theatre in the same profession. Altogether, Páll has been working in lighting design and engineering for over thirty years. Páll has a master’s in electrical engineering.

Ingvar was formerly a designer and consultant for engineering firm Verkís and Exton ehf. for a number of years. In addition, Invgar has been a freelance sound engineer for many years. Ingvar has a BSc in technology from the Reykjavík University and is currently working on his master’s in sound engineering at Álaborg University.

Source: mbl.is
Image: borkur.net

Labels: Harpa

In recent days work has begun to install the individual glazing panels into the glass skin of the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. Glazing work has commenced on the northern face of the building, bringing architect Ólafur Elíasson’s design into reality. The glazing work is scheduled to be completed by the autumn; the concert centre is really starting to take its shape as the skin begins to define the outline and colour of the structure.

Some of the panels are coloured, and change hue depending on the viewpoint of the observer. Around 400 employees are currently working on the installation, but they are soon expected to increase to 500 in number. The completion of the project was assured by funding from the Icelandic government after the collapse the company overseeing the project, Portus Group, late last year.

Icelandic contractors are set to complete the project by April of next year. It could be feasible for the keys to be handed over and the building prepared for opening as early as this June, when an opening date will officially be decided. You can almost hear the falsettos ringing around the main performance hall already. Let’s hope they don’t shatter any of those glass panels, they look expensive.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Construction, Harpa