On october 28th 2016, three years after the competition result was announced, the service facilities for hikers to the Dyrfjöll – Stórurð area at Vatnskarð was officially opened by the mayors of Fljótsdalshérað and Borgarfjörður Eystri. A week ago it was also announced that the project has received the Icelandic Environmental Award for 2016, awarded by Ferðamálastofa (Icelandic Board of Tourism), an independent office under Atvinnuvega- og Nýsköpunarráðuneytið (Ministry of Industries and Innovation).

30+ people gathered for the opening, and with fantastic weather yet cold and windy (gluggaveður they call it in icelandic), the northern lights room was tested at full capacity (bordering to cramped). Both national and regional television was present, and thus the project got prime time exposure on the evening on the 28th on RÚV and a week later a more thorough presentation on the regional presenter N4.

View the winning competition proposal here.

The service building was slightly altered programmatically from the competition, introducing a stronger and more firm built mass, and enhancing the qualities of materials used for better longevity and less maintenance. The toilet facilities were reduced, and a northern lights room was introduced into the design.

The environmental aspects of the design are many. It is a completely detached service building, with no water, sewage or electricity installed, thus relying on solar cells for minimal artificial lighting and the vent for the compost toilet. The project has therefore a minimal impact on its surroundings.

The building materials are mostly produced locally – the precast concrete elements with local stone aggregate (black basalt) produced at Egilstaðir and the larch boarding on the roof, walls and terraces produced in the local forest of Hallormstaðaskógur.

Because of its unique approach of clarifying the starting point and trails in the Dyrfjöll – Stórurð area, and thus creating a new identity with a distinct profile to the hikers area, the project was awarded the Environmetal Award for 2016 by the Icelandic board of tourism. The award ceremony was held on the 30.11.16 at Harpa in Reykjavík, as a conclusion to the big symposium held to discuss the possibilities and challenges from the increasing tourism in Iceland. Björn Ingimarsson and Jón Þórðarson received the award on behalf of respectively Fljótsdalshérað and Borgarfjördur Eystri.

A special edition guestbook, made by presserommet, was given as house gift at the opening, in the Icelandic blue color (with a small norwegian tag), symbolizing the small norwegian intrusion in the great Icelandic landscape.

» The greatest secret about history is that it can change. History doesn’t just go backwards, it goes forwards too. All things that’s going to happen is just history waiting to be written. It’s how we write it that’s going to make a difference. To change history requires reconciliation with the past and the will to make innovation that rethink future. To reconcile with the island’s past history means it has to be highlighted and not ignored.«

The competition proposal was done as a collaborative work of the Architects Collective EX3 at Hydrogenfabrikken, Fredrikstad, which consists of ZIS AS / ZeroImpactStrategies, Handegård Arkitektur AS and VizStudio Espen Tomren (3D visualizations). We are happy to announce that we were chosen as 1 of 30 finalists in the competition. For more info on the competition, go to the YAC website.

We keep the existing buildings as memorials of Poveglias history. They will be architectural reminiscences and contribute to demystification along with several other necessary measures; One should open up and tell the stories. Offer excursions and guided tours to the island. Tell the stories, both the ancient and the coming. One should also arrange an annual ceremony to honor and respect the victims of ancient Poveglia. It is only in such a way we gradually will be able to reconcile with Poveglias past.

In our western world, architecture has gotten it’s independent position as a contrast to nature. In other parts of the world, architecture and nature is considered as a whole. Where nature is treated as a natural substance and architecture will abide by this, and not vice versa. They found a new equilibrium where humans lived in close contact with nature. This was an ideal, and out of this arose the idea of placing buildings that were subordinate to the natural surroundings.

In Poveglia nature has recaptured the island and the architecture. We have the opportunity to use this as a unique situation to write a new story about Poveglia. We can respect nature. Adapt to it. Ask the island where we are allowed to build – and do it on its own terms. In Poveglia we can achieve a natural development between nature, architecture and people that we have few other places in the western world – a unique charachteristic place. A way of rethinking the future that can change history.

To reduce the buildings’ size and adapt to site, the primary functions are divided into independent volumes, scattered around the island, where Poveglia allows us to build. To reach the different pavillions you must go outside into the nature and walk. From a classroom to the café or from a studio appartment to the library you will always have to move outdoors in nature.

The feeling walking through new Poveglia is like being in a fairytale – where nature and architecture is combined and the mystic past still present just behind the ruins or beneath the surface.

A new pier is added in the south, where the existing pier is located, for better connection to the island for tourists and students with the ACTV transport service.

When you arrive at Poveglia, you will meet a pergola roof that floats alongside and through the existing walls, and runs through the whole campus from south to north. From this line of movement there are connection points to all walkways between buildings. The roof connects the most important facilities – the auditorium, the administration, the canteen, a café.

It also connects to the sports facilities with covered outdoor training facilites towards the canal, between the landing stage / boat house and the ruins reused for changing rooms.

On the northern island there are located various leisure and recreational facilities like tennis, petanque courts, fencing, archery, high jump etc. In these parts of the island nature is trimmed, so it becomes more open. The main path leads out to a new beach with volleyball pitch at the nothernmost shore.

The existing buildings are used for offices, including the ruins beside the bell tower, which are also rehabilitated for this purpose. The other ruins are kept as architectural reminisences. They are used as temporary pavillions for exhibitions.

All new spaces like the library / reading / multipurpose facilities, classrooms and appartments are being built as circular units, customized to the surroundings. They have a skin of slats that serve different kind of needs: varying transparency; visibility, views, shading etc.

The whole campus is a mixed use campus, where classrooms, service facilites, recreational facilities and housing create a unique and completely new character for the university.

The dispersion of buildings as smaller individual entities are also the only viable way of creating a larger development without coming into conflict with the scale of the existing buildings and ruins. The unique nature / architecture blend could also only be created through the downplayed approach of the proposal.

To facilitate events for everyone on the Island, an indoors venue would blow the scale of the existing structures of the island. Therefore we have suggested an outdoor amphi to be used for the largest events – graduation, start of semester, etc. A stretched roof of sails can temporarily cover the amphi, if needed, bridging the pergola roof that encircle the amphi edge. The graduates enter by boat onto the stage in a tidal water basin, while the spectators enter from above by the new bridges linking the octogon and the main island.

The existing buildings are just slightly altered, introducing new elements to the old constructions as contrasting elements. The exisiting / former stairwells are reintroduced, and a new partitioning of the spaces are suggested in harmony with the existing.

The existing ruins are internally rehabilitated and used as outdoor and semicovered exhibition spaces. Inserted inbetween the walls are new multipurpose spaces that serve the outdoor spaces and widens the flexibility of the structures. The ruins towards the canal to the north on the main island are reused for sports facilities and a café / restaurant. The church and smaller unregistered reminiscent buildings are also reactivated for exhibition use.

The library, reading spaces and multipurpose spaces are combined into several smaller entities, instead of one larger facility, to keep the scale down. The positive effect is that the intimacy is kept in each building, at the same time as they can be found on several locations on the island, randomly dispersed.

The classrooms are two-storey buildings with one classroom on each storey. They include wardrobe and toilet facilities, and are structured as flexible spaces without partitions. 1st floor and the roof is accessible from the outside from a flight of stairs. There are 10 classroom pavillions, each consisting of 2 classrooms of approx. 200 m2 (i.e. for 100 persons), evenly dispersed throughout the whole campus.

The residences (dormitories) are placed in clusters of up to 5 units, each unit consisting of 4 dorms of 15 m2, ministudios for two people of 30m2 or appartments for 4 people of 60 m2. There are 10 clusters of 5 units, thereby facilitating 200 inhabitants. There´s created an intimate student community, since each cluster facilitates for approx. 20 people only, with a central common garden and private roof terrasses.

» The Sola Town Hall is located as an independent and formally strong structure, with the city park and pedestrian urban carpet flowing through it. The building exudes a solid architecture, an architecture that provides a sense of security and credibility. An open and transparent facade towards the square and the park invites people into the building, to participate and influence. An architecture that contributes to confidence and security – a place you come for advice. «

The competition proposal was done as a collaborative work of the Architects Collective EX3 at Hydrogenfabrikken, Fredrikstad, which consists of ZIS AS / ZeroImpactStrategies, Handegård Arkitektur AS and VizStudio (3D visualizations).

To contrast with the existing and planned structures in midtown Sola – and to build its own character – the new Sola Town Hall keeps low and hovers slimly above the park and urban landscapes, letting people flow freely through and under the complex.

The two parallel public spaces, the park and the urban carpet, are given a change in their rythm when the Sola Town Hall breaks up the space – the town hall square will have the new proposed church as a fond motif and as an end point of the undulating carpet, from which both the town hall recessed ground floor as well as the church and the new highrise to the south grows. The roof landscape is green and ties the complex to the park.

The courtyard, with entrances to the different health services and the outdoor serving areas of the cantine, also maximizes natural light for the offices in the upper stories. The slim slabs of the offices make pleasant sheltered spaces for bicycle parking and entrance points underneath.

The main entrance is a double height space in dialogue with both the courtyard and the square, and includes all the main reception functionality, while the more specialized services like health care, PPT etc are given more discrete separate entrances, linked to the public park and courtyard at the lower level.

The main entrance is the meeting point for all public / administrative contact, with easy access to the town hall assembly directly above the entrace. The town hall assembly has its own balcony towards the square for the bigger celebrations – for instance 17th of may speeches. The politicians wing is directly connected to the town hall assembly as well, in contact with both the courtyard and the street.

The Mosque finds its inspiration from the icelandic landscape – gently rising from the surrounding park landscape – with a protective perimeter wrapping resembling the fault line walls which have played a vital role resonating democracy and justice at Þingvellir. The Mosque visibly interacts with the park, with its green roof and the contemplative garden. Natural light is guiding your way through the Mosque and towards prayer.

The competition proposal was made in collaboration with SAAHA, and the external visualizations done by VizStudio.

The perimeter wrapping creates a tranquil place for worship and contemplation at one of the most trafficated intersection in Reykjavik – and opens up and exposes the Mosques activities towards the outside through its variations. The homogenous wrapping is only broken to enter the building – a portal inspired by the stuðlaberg formations as well as the ancient geometric vaults of traditional Mosques. Using a traditional arabic pattern to clothe and decorate the building is inspired by the traditional icelandic patterns of the lopapeysa, also worn to protect the individual in the cold and harsh climate.

You enter the generous lobby combined with shoe and cloak storage, which connects everything within the Mosque: Down the stairs to ablution and the prayer hall, up to the office, library and classroom, and directly to the kitchen and auditorium. From the lobby you also have access to the contemplative garden and the room for ritual washing of the deceased. The prayer hall is a wide space promoting equality when facing Mecca in prayer, inspired by the traditional non-directional spaces of the polystyle Mosques. The prayer hall interacts with the common areas through its translucent metal screens and further into the ablution through translucent glass.

The auditorium can open up as a gallery for the prayer hall, and thus function as additional prayer space when needed. The kitchen is ideally positioned to facilitate activites both in the auditorium and the lobby, with easy access to the other floors through the elevator. The ritual washing of the deceased is given a more tranquil position towards the garden and given access to the outside through this. The office on the 1st floor has direct visibility to the entrance, and the library and classroom is an open landscape of bookshelves creating individual places in-between for discussion and in depth study. The classroom is enclosed with glass to roof above the shelves, while the hole zone can be darkened by vertical blinds.

The contemplative garden contains the traditional elements of a muslim garden triggering all senses – running water, beauty through biodiversity inspired by both icelandic and foreign flora, and harvest. The material palette of the Mosque is contemporary and following the tradition of expressive concrete sacral buildings like the Hallgrimskirkja – prefabricated concrete and ultra-high performance concrete screens, structural glazing towards the garden. The quibla wall is of a honeycomb glazed tile, where shadows play in the light, the mihrab and the minbar rising from the ground in polished basalt.

«From the street, the house hides … at our feet, appears a large gazebo, an extension, a platform that extends endlessly towards the horizon, capturing the great view of Santiago and its great range … inside it opens a space, a large patio of light that receives us to make the vast horizon permanent.»

The proposal was made in collaboration with Chilean architect Anton A. Riadi.

We are situated between two major geographical features that identify the city of Santiago de Chile – the Andes and the Manquehue hill.

The Z HOUSE is placed as a mediator between these two major geographies, to the south-east the Andes Mountains and to the south-west the Manquehue hill. The house is hidden, creating a balcony on the slope which always keeps the city as a vast panoramic view.

To the south a large patio of light opens up with a pool which accentuates the horizon, creating an instance of permanence and relaxation. The house is located strategically to open all its views to the south and allow natural light to have enclosures during the course of the day.

The house extends to the horizon and elevates itself in the form of a Z, generating a division of four major instances.

1. The main entrance courtyard leads down to the submerged house, from the street to the entrance hall, where we see a large volume that is detached from the body of the house creating a sense of freedom towards the city.

2. The terrace is directly linked to the main hall, service area, guest area, dining room, library and living room. In this way the living spaces have an immediate connection with the large yard of light and the openness of the house is evident.

3. The green courtyard is under the slope of the site. Above it is the volume of the master bedroom which follows from the general body of the house. Thus the master bedroom abalcona creating a total perspective into the courtyard, the city and the Andes Mountains. The bedrooms, office and hometheater for the children, are directly linked to the green courtyard, linked directly to the slope.

4. The parking yard fulfills the function to separate the street from the building, creating a more intimate vehicular access for residents into the house. The service area is directly linked to the yard parking.