Reykjavík City Hall
The City Hall is located on the northern bank of the lake 'Tjörnin' in the historic centre of Reykjavík. The design is informed by the two dominant systems existent in this place: To the north the City Council Building, housing the political functions, is massive and orthogonal, respecting the urban scale and order of the existing city fabric. To the south the primarily bureaucratic Office Building has a lighter structure, open to the lake and veiled in a filigree dance of shadows.
In the space between the two structures a wall of black lava creates the conditions for the growth of moss and new reflecting pool offers an urban habitat for aquatic fauna.
Within the City Hall, rooms for functions, offices for the daily running of the municipality and the City Council plenary are all visually open and physically accessible. The openness is reinforced by the ground floor which is traversed by one of the primary walking routes in the city encouraging an interaction between citizens and the politicians and bureaucrats who serve them. More intimate relationships are often developed in the lake-side café.
Client : City of Reykjavík
Architects : Studio Granda
Structural Engineers : Almenna Verkfraedistofan
Electrical Engineers : J. Roger Preston & Ptns. / Rafhönnun
Environmental Engineers : J. Roger Preston & Ptns. / Almenna Verkfraedistofan
Acoustic Engineers : Tim Smith Acoustics / Verkfraedistofan ÖnnAwards
Icelandic Environmental Services Association Award 1993
DV Cultural Award for Architecture 1993
Nordic Sheet Metal Award for Architecture 1991
