The Icelandic National Concert & Conference Centre

The Icelandic National Concert & Conference Centre in Reykjavik will house a centre for music, culture and tourism in the best location in the capital. It will create the best conditions for Iceland’s continually expanding musical life and will be the home of The Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, it will include a top-rate conference facility closely connected to a 5-star 400 room hotel.

The estimated size of the centre is 25.000 m2 and the hotel is of similar size.

The prominent artist Ólafur Elíasson designed the building’s outer shell and assisted in creating the connection between the building and its nearest surroundings, such as the water plaza that will be in front of the centre, which is a spectacular work of art by itself. One of Elíasson’s key interests is the dialogue between the individual and his surroundings, and this project reflects his success, creating the potential for exchanges between the building and the people living in Reykjavik, the city itself, as well as the surrounding landscape and weather.

The main designer of the Icelandic National Concert & Conference Centre is the architectural firm Henning Larsen Architects, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The firm has gained a reputation for superb designs, such as The Copenhagen Opera House, which opened in January 2005.

The world known US consultant company Artec is responsible for acoustics, sound isolation, and design of theatre and sound equipment.

Design
The Icelandic National Concert & Conference Centre will be constructed at the city centre harbour where the waterfront wharf and the old harbour wall meet on a striking coastal site, embraced by the sea.

The design of the building is influenced by the impressive and dramatic Icelandic landscape. The nature is an endless source of colours: from glowing red to indigo blue, with variations from roaring ocean with white-foaming waves to a still, glassy sea.

The concept of the building is to create a crystalline form with a variety of colours dependent on the surrounding nature, giving the viewer a continuous feeling of sensuous change. The building stands alone as a monolith, reflecting the varying sky both in intensity and colour depending on the time of day, the weather and the season. The sun will accentuate the details in light and shadow, and the building will allude to the warm golden colours of glowing lava or to the ice blue glaciers of winter.
There are eight planned terraces on different floors in the building. On the fifth floor, a terrace connects the roofs of the rehearsal hall and the concert hall providing fantastic view over the bay to the north and to the city towards west and south. The terrace will be used for intermissions and for minor exhibitions and performances. The view from the buildings is grand to the north and the west.

Three halls, three buildings under one shell
The plan of the building is very simple with three halls side by side – a Concert Hall, a Rehearsal/Recital Hall and a Conference Hall, which will simplify the flow within the building. Throughout the design process, emphasis is placed on making it both ideal for hosting bigger events and to separate different conference halls from other areas of the building. This makes it possible to host different events simultaneously, without one interfering with the others.
Concert hall: 1,800 people
Conference hall: 750 people
Rehearsal hall: 450 people

The new constructions strengthen the appearance of city centre by exceptional Concert and Conference building and a unique square where the use of water is a major element.
A significant element in the lot design is a pedestrian street, proceeding from old city square towards the Concert and Conference Centre. Pedestrians are protected by the curved design of the street and adjacent buildings. A new square in front of the building will create a unique atmosphere using hot water.
www.austurhofn.is