A town about to change

Iceland is more famous for its nature than its cities. It is not unusual that tourists on Laugavegur are regarded by the locals with a shrug and a comment: "What is there to see here anyways?" And though Reykjavík has earned a reputation for its nightlife, the streets and buildings of the city are not exactly famous. But Danish architect Tanja Jordan thinks that is a shame. There is plenty to see in downtown Reykjavík, which she finds a surprising and very Icelandic metropolis. But at the same time, she is sceptical towards the way the inner city is developed. That is why she spent the month of July discussing the future planning of Reykjavík, hanging up posters in the city inviting people to discussions on her website (see the end of the article for details) and meeting with decisionmakers.

From her rented Tryggvagata office, Jordan is close to the harbour and the old centre of Reykjavík. Not much has changed in this part of town over the years. The harbourside may even look a bit out of date, but walking up Laugavegur newer buildings begin to appear and heading down towards the sea on Skúlagata all buildings are new, tall and very modern looking.

There is an eagerness to change this town, but I think it is important to discuss what will come instead of the older buildings, she says.

Tanja Jordan, who teaches at the academy of architecture in Copenhagen, as well as running her own architecture partnership, spent the month of July in Reykjavík as a part of a residency programme from the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA), an organization that aims to help projects incorporating design, architecture and art. She found an apartment and an office in Reykjavík to use during her stay. She has often come to Iceland, and as a teenager, she spent six months in Skagafjörður on a farm with horses.

The object of her month in Reykjavík is to try to bring a socially oriented look to architecture and design, and in this project specifically, to try to bring public opinion about city planning and changes in the city to light. Jordan also aims to involve the users in the decision-making process, she explains as we talk over coffee at Apótek, an old and well-restored building in the old centre of Reykjavík. The names of former Reykjavík pharmacists are on a plaque on the wall, so as to remind us of the buildings history, even though mainly coffee and café food is dispensed in the building nowadays.

I think inner-city Reykjavík has a very unique identity that is both very typically Icelandic but at the same time different from the rest of the town and its suburbs. This is the only place in town that has been built for walking rather than driving and the only place where the buildings are generally older than 50 years, she explains.

Jordan makes a point of explaining that shes not against developing the city and tearing buildings down if they no longer serve any purpose; rather, she is pointing out how immensely important it is to consider what will replace torn down buildings and to consider what size and form new buildings should have. For example she does not think that the large buildings on Skúlagata are good for the development of the city.

They are shutting the city off from the sea, except maybe for the people who live in them. Not that I am against building ultra-urban modern tall buildings, I just think it is very important to keep Reykjavík close to the sea, she says. The tall buildings are mainly apartments and take the view from the people living behind.

Just as a warning of how these things can go wrong she gives an example from Copenhagen, a town most Icelanders are familiar with. The harbour side of Kalvebod Brygge west off Central Station has been saturated by large office buildings with glass façades all the way out to the waters edge and now the pier appears dead and unwelcoming after office hours. Whereas the opposite side, Islands Brygge, where goods to and from Iceland were landed in the old days, got a bathing facility in the harbour a few years back; there are trees, benches and cafés. And it is packed with people on the hot summer days.

The project on Islands Brygge was initiated by locals, not the city officials, she stresses. A good example to show what can happen when users go into dialogue and take control of the development of their local neighbourhood. And on the other side, what happens when no one considers the effects of buildings on the city?

For her month in Reykjavík, she chose three large and very visible projects to focus on: Vatnsmýrin og Hljómskálagarðurinn, Laugavegur, and the harbour area and Mýrargata.

Hljómskálagarðurinn

While there are obvious reasons to discuss the future of Vatnsmýrin, she herself has wondered why Hljómskálagarðurinn is used so little.

Its not enough to roll out some grass in an area and think people will enjoy going there. There have to be some activities, shops or something to go there for, she says. And Hljómskálagarðurinn is next door to the ever-expanding Hringbraut, leaving it in a corner of town, so to speak. And the same goes for the harbour and seaside. Few people have an errand there so few people go there. Even though Hljómskálagarðurinn is a nice park. And on Laugavegur, a lot is about to change. Reykjavík city is currently buying up buildings that are worth preserving and making plans to tear down the ones that are not. But what will be instead?

Reykjavík Laugavegur

I dont think that Icelanders appreciate the identity of Reykjavík and that it is unique, Jordan says, pointing out that she does not think Icelanders do not care about their capital, but in the fast pace with which things take place these days she is concerned there is no time to stop and think. Or for citizens to react. As most of Reykjavík was developed after the car became a common feature, it has become so widespread and now comes off more like cities in the United States than in Europe. But inner city has something else to show.

The downtown of Reykjavík is both very Icelandic with its two- and three-storey iron-coated houses, and on the other hand, very different from the rest of the metropolitan area, being very intimate and concentrated. You would want to maintain this feeling in the downtown, where people walk around, meet each other on the streets, shop and are surprised by the many different kinds of stores. Laugavegur has to be that different to be able to compete with the malls, she thinks.

Jordan has met with local decisionmakers and architects. For her this is also a way to research how things in Iceland move from vision to concrete ideas to finished buildings.

In Copenhagen, where Jordan works, citizens are fierce about radical changes to the inner city and if they dont like it, they object.

But its a different thing, for example in Copenhagen, all older buildings in the centre of town are five storeys in height, and anything that sticks out above that is regarded with some scepticism, she says. In Reykjavík, there are fewer conventions. Buildings have all sorts of shapes and sizes. But still have something in common. They are colourful, low and often small, thus creating a sense of intimacy in the inner city.

And there is a tendency for newer houses in Reykjavík to be built with very little respect for this identity and intimacy.

New buildings tend to be very streamlined, international looking and have no distinctive features to remind people that they are in Reykjavík. Often an architect is brought in from abroad, and its not that he does not do a good job. Its just not in synch with the rest of the town, and does nothing to preserve the special identity of Reykjavík, Jordan explains.

Harbour

The harbour area is the third focus of Tanja Jordans project. The history of Reykjavík is very much one of a city by the sea, dependent on the fisheries, and the fact that there is still an operating harbour and associated industries is great, according to her. From Apótek we take our bikes and head west, past Hamborgarabúllan, where people are chatting in the parking lot after a good meal. Past Búllan, on the ridiculously narrow sidewalk, we go down to one of Tanja Jordans favourite places in Reykjavík. The roundabout between Mýrargata, Ánanaust and Grandagarður. The view from the roundabout is magnificent, even though the weather gods are not exactly on our side on this day. At the end of the street there is a mountain — or so it seems.

Harbour identity

Presently, Hamborgarabúllan and some fish restaurants draw people to the harbour area, but there are more potential options, buildings that could be developed more extensively. I've gotten some good suggestions on the website, for example to make a food and fish market in the house known as Alliance-húsið. In the style of Kolaportið, but with food. Theres is no such thing in Reykjavík and that would definitely make people come down there, Jordan enthuses. She loves the location of Alliance-húsið at the roundabout between Mýrargata, Ánanaust and Grandagarður.

Standing in the roundabout you can see the mountains that seem to be at the end of the street and that is very typically Icelandic. Nature is never far away, and there are some fantastic views in this town. Just looking down the small streets that cross Laugavegur you have some amazing views. The contrast is a great quality, she says. You cant develop that, but you have to be careful not to lose it.

Debate the developments of Laugavegur, Vatnsmýrin and the harbour area at urbanaffair.blogspot.com. Tanja Jordan returns to Reykjavík in October.

Text by Hanne Carlsson Photos by Hari