VENUE

LANDMARK CONFERENCE CENTRE FOR REYKJAVIK
15/06/2006
A new conference and concert centre is to be built on the site of the old city harbour in Reykjavik.
The development concept by Olafur Eliasson, best known in the UK for his Weather Project installation in the Tate Modern in 2003, is set for completion in 2009. The conference centre will feature a crystalline outer form to reflect Iceland’s dramatic weather and landscape.
The building, with its glass, mirror and steel fa?ade, will stand alone as a monolith reflecting the changing sky. The four storey outer shell will house an 1,800 capacity concert hall, a 750-seater conference hall and a rehearsal hall for up to 450 performers. The structure will also house a top floor restaurant, cafes, offices, smaller conference and rehearsal rooms, exhibition space and an underground car park.
The concert hall’s eight terraces and foyer will provide views over the centre of the city to the Snaefellsjokull glacier to the northwest and Mount Esja to the east. A glass bricked pedestrian street will link the halls to the new 250 room W hotel and Laekjatorg Square.
The design and construction team, spearheaded by the Portus Group, includes Danish agency Henning Larsen Tenesture A/S, responsible for the new opera house in Copenhagen and Jasper Parrott of Harrison Parrott of London, artistic adviser to Portus.