Copenhagen studio Henning Larsen Architects and Icelandic studio Batteriid Architects have completed a concert hall and conference centre in Reykjavík, Iceland, in collaboration with artist Olafur Eliasson.
Panes of clear and colour-coated glass surround a steel framework of twelve-sided modules on the south facade of the Harpa Concert and Conference Centre.
Inspired by basalt crystals, the faceted glass scatters reflections of the surrounding harbour and sky, and presents a glittering wall of light after dark.
A flattened version of this geometry surrounds the other elevations of the building.
Three large concert halls occupy the first floor, including one finished entirely in red, while a smaller fourth hall on the ground floor provides a venue for intimate performances and banquets.
Visitors access the main foyer from a south-facing entrance, while staff and performers enter the backstage area from the north.
The project was featured on Dezeen last year, when it was still under construction - see our earlier story here.
See more projects by Henning Larsen Architects on Dezeen here, and more projects by artist Olafur Eliasson here.
Photography is by Nic Lehoux.
Here are some more details from Henning Larsen Architects:
Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik gathers inspiration from the northern lights and the dramatic Icelandic scenery.
Situated on the border between land and sea, the Centre stands out as a large, radiant sculpture reflecting both sky and harbour space as well as the vibrant life of the city.
The spectacular facades have been designed in close collaboration between Henning Larsen Architects, the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and the engineering companies Rambøll and ArtEngineering GmbH from Germany.
The Concert Hall and Conference Centre of 28,000 m2 is situated in a solitary spot with a clear view of the enormous sea and the mountains surrounding Reykjavik.
The Centre features an arrival and foyer area in the front of the building, four halls in the middle and a backstage area with offices, administration, rehearsal hall and changing room in the back of the building.
The three large halls are placed next to each other with public access on the south side and backstage access from the north.
The fourth floor is a multifunctional hall with room for more intimate shows and banquets.
Seen from the foyer, the halls form a mountain-like massif that similar to basalt rock on the coast forms a stark contrast to the expressive and open facade.
At the core of the rock, the largest hall of the Centre, the main concert hall, reveals its interior as a red-hot centre of force.
The project is designed in collaboration with the local architectural company, Batteríið Architects.
Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre forms part of an extensive harbour development project in Reykjavik, the East Harbour Project.
As the name indicates, the overall objective of the project is to expand and revitalise Reykjavik's eastern harbour with a new downtown plaza, a shopping street, a hotel, residential buildings, educational institutions and mixed industry.
The overall intention is to generate life in the area and to create a better connection between the city centre and the harbour.
Situated outside the city's building mass, the building will become a significant icon in the city - a visual attractor with a powerful and varying expression.
The isolated location will mean that, to a great extent, the changing climatic and light effects will be exposed in the facades of the concert building, often in contrast to the narrow and shady streets in the rest of the city.
Henning Larsen Architects has designed the facade of the Concert Hall in close collaboration with the local architects Batteríið Architects and the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.
As the rest of the building, the design of the facades is inspired by nature.
In particular, the characteristic local basalt formations have provided the inspiration for the geometric facade structure.
Made of glass and steel in a twelve-sided space-filling geometric modular system called the 'quasibrick', the building appears a kaleidoscopic play of colours, reflected in the more than 1000 quasibricks composing the southern facade.
The remaining facades and the roof are made of sectional representations of this geometric system, resulting in two-dimensional flat facades of five and sixsided structural frames.
In order to develop these ideas the team worked with three-dimensional computer models, finite element modelling, various digital visualisation techniques as well as maquettes, models and mock-ups.
Light and transparency are key elements in the building.
The crystalline structure, created by the geometric figures of the facade, captures and reflects the light - promoting the dialogue between the building, city and surrounding landscape.
One of the main ideas has been to "dematerialise" the building as a static entity and let it respond to the surrounding colours - the city lights, ocean and glow of the sky.
In this way, the expression of the facade changes according to the visual angle.
With the continuously changing scenery, the building will appear in an endless variation of colours.
Click above for larger image
Click above for larger image
even more horrendous version of the javitts center.
Seems to be a very competent building. I like that there are natural looking photos of the façade done in normal lighting conditions, makes it more convincing that it'll look good in real life.
A lot of similarities to Schmidt Hammer Lassen's Black Diamond library extension, also on the Copenhagen waterfront, which was built 12 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Diamond_(Copen…
wow, this project is wrong on so may levels it is difficult to know where to begin. Its such a mish mash of different trendy ideas, its as if it was designed in a fashionable architectural pick and mix shop. The overarching concept of basalt just doesn’t hold the formal elements of the proposition together, each interpretation of the concept competes with the other where it ought really to complement it. Its just such a shame so much money and effort has been spent on such a poorly conceived building.
Pretty impressive building. The third and fourth interior photos look a bit like the Tate in London. Any info/reviews on the acoustics for the concert hall and the smaller performance venue?
Isn't iceland supposed to be paying of a huge debt?
I don't know how outdated the design of the 'outer skin' frame will look in 10 years.
When looking at it I feel like seeing Philip Johnson's Crystal Cathedral or such.
the population of Reykjavik is around 120,000. they could probably all fit in here.
This, let’s say hotly, discussed building was half built when the Icelandic economy crashed in 2008. It was decided to finish the building on the outside, it’s only partially finished on the inside, instead of having it stand there for years half built and of use to no one.
Steef, Iceland is not supposed to be paying of bigger dept than many other countries.
Jed, from earlier Dezeen story “building will accommodate four concert halls, the largest of which will accommodate up to 1,800 people”
The largest room takes about 1,800 people. The "large Reykjavik area" is about 200,000.
The house is only partially finished on the inside and will not be finished until the Icelandic economy gets better.
When I saw the project on magazines 3 years ago, I was expecting some kind of amazing light work and a festival of cristal like texture on the facades… then came the crisis, and budget cuts, and plan B etc…
as a result, I went there 2 weeks ago and it's rather disappointing. Especially the envelope. Morover, dark colour makes it completely different than the initial project (at least images we've seen), kinda boring and flat.
on the other hand, one must admit that the interior is something, light plays here a crucial role and the facetted glass creates a dynamic atmosphere inside.
litteraly the interior is far better than the outside.
unfortunately I couldn't go to a concert so no clue about the acoustics, but some people who went told me that it was kinda poor quality..
When I saw the project on magazines 3 years ago, I was expecting some kind of amazing light work and a festival of cristal like texture on the facades… then came the crisis, and budget cuts, and plan B etc…
beautiful facade – looks like a dragonfly wing
keep thinking the solar gain in this building would be ridiculous. Think of all the energy needed to cool it… Not all light is good light.
?? Do they need air conditioning in iceland??
I've heard that the acoustics are really good. I like the interior a lot, but this is monstrous in the small city scape.
Not only is the building a bad example of architecture, it’s a terrible example of urbanism. No actual contact with the adjacent harbour and no consideration of the fantastic view to the ocean and surrounding mountains. In the minds of the common Icelander it is also a symbol for the economic crash in 2008.
The building is a hodge-podge of elements and much of the surface is busy to the point of being a jarring distraction. The interior of the main concert hall is exceedingly uninviting. I would not want to be listening to the warmth of Brahms in this concert hall.