Elves influence winning design for Reykjavik opera house @Arch

19 August, 2008

By Helen Pow

Danish architect Arkitema and Icelandic firm Arkthing have won an international competition to design a major new opera house in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The firms beat architects Alark and David Crossfield, from Iceland and New York respectively, in the contest to deliver a new 8,000sq m home for Icelandic Opera.

The project, commissioned by local authority Kopavogur council, also aims to complement the existing church of Kopavogs and become a cultural landmark.

The winning design, dubbed the Opera, features a large lower floor level and a light and crystalline upper floor which refers to the mythical home of the elves.

According to Icelandic folklore, the elves live near the site for the opera house, along the Borgaholt hill.

The Opera’s transparent upper levels house the concert hall, which can hold an audience of up to 820. Its facade is a glass screen with LEDs which change colour and strength throughout the day.

Arkitema architect and creative leader Hallgrimur Thor Sigurdsson said: “It is seldom one gets the opportunity to create such an exciting and prestigious project as an opera house.”

@Source: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=725&storycode=3120643&c=2&encCode=00000000017f7b4a