Margt smátt gerir eitt stórt
Situated in the northernmost part of Elliðaárdalur there used to be a bridge. This bridge housed a hot water pipe and served an important role for pedestrians and cyclists as it connected Ártún to Fossvogur but when the heating pipe was removed, so was the bridge. My project aims to both restore this important commuting axis but also to address the need for new headquarters of the Icelandic forestry institute, seeing as Icelandic timber will in the upcoming years begin to be market competitive with imported timber.
With that in mind the project aims to provide ample space for research and development into Icelandic timber, Educating people on how to work with the material and thus activating the surrounding area and quality working space for the offices of the Icelandic forestry.
Iceland has almost never had the luxury of having local materials for construction, that being especially true today, when truly sustainable materials are needed. Facing the challenges of using Icelandic wood, which is not wide and strong, in this project and having to implement open floorplans for the workshop building creative solutions had to be sought out in the structure of the buildings.
Workshop
Office & Lecture Hall
Urban Lab - Design Agency