The exterior is modest with white, cubic forms blending in with the existing structures. One piece stands out — the auditorium is clad with corrugated copper, marking the new entry. On the other side of the building, facing west, is the former service yard, taking on the role of an academic quadrangle, with the main circulation spine of the school running along one side. A small, boxy building marks another side of the space. Painted bright red inside, the box holds the school café and at night, the local pub. Like Studio Granda’s Supreme Courts in Reykjavik, the flat roofs at Bifröst are covered with slabs of lava. Studio Granda is currently developing a strategic framework for future expansion of the Bifröst campus into the surrounding area.This involves challenging questions on how to set a pattern for urbanization in a natural setting, taking into account the particular visual characteristics of Icelandic landscape.The results could be interesting, since the visual and architectural relationship between built form and landscape in Iceland has previously not been addressed so directly in the early stages of a new settlement. Many issues need to be dealt with — the danger of suburban sprawl, uncontrolled residential subdivisions on nearby land and commercial strip development along the main road.With a rapid increase in tourism, Icelanders must accommodate new develop- ment while preserving the visual quality and uniqueness of their natural landscape.The strategy of Studio Granda views buildings as landscape, and nature as part of the architect’s palette of materials. This carries an important message about the value of creative thinking in defining the relationship between the natural and the man-made, and the possible role of architecture as a mediator between the opposing poles of con- servation and development.The transformation of Bifröst could become an example that proves that point and sets the standard.
that was conceived more as a man-made landscape than a building. In 1993 Studio Granda defined their architecture as the emotional substi - tute of landscape in the present-day urban environment: ‘Cities are built testimonies to man’s will to move beyond the limitations of nature, they are purpose made machines to service ever increasing needs and expectations which cannot be provided by a bush or a rock.Within this built environment architecture has become the new landscape, a datum against which everyday judgments are made.As the singular most powerful factor influencing the lives of city dwellers, architecture has become a synthetic substitute for the stability of, say, a mountain and in that role must provide humankind with an equivalent sense of security.’ (A+U,April 1993) Bifröst is Studio Granda’s first public project in Iceland outside the urban and suburban areas of Reykjavik. Here the challenge was not to bring nature into the building but to create a dense, urban place of intense activity in midst of a virgin landscape.The currently completed building is the first phase in a new spine of buildings that extends lin - early in both directions behind the original building. Future buildings will be linked by a hallway, with the rooms facing open courtyards off the hallway, each one a distinct color. The new addition is intended to be the heart of the school, a place where all its activities are brought together. It is compact in form and highly efficient in the use of space; circulation spaces are low and intimate, with carefully placed skylights that give a sense of place. A double-height assembly room with sliding walls on two sides offers a range of alternative spatial arrangements with adjacent spaces on both levels.This flexibility is a further development of Studio Granda’s multi-purpose space in the renovation of Reykjavik Art Museum (2000) with its sophisticated system of barn-door openings to the outside. In Bifröst, the architects were able to shape the assembly room at will, free of the orthogonal constraints of an existing building.When the projec- tion screen of the lecture room is pulled up, a large window appears framing a view of the landscape.To the side, a small window down by the floor offers a different view of nature, contained and intimate. Next to the auditorium is the new main entrance to the school with adjacent reception and administrative offices.The work-space is open, to accom - modate future rearrangements. On the floor above are faculty work- spaces, meeting rooms and reading areas.
Petur H. Armannsson, architect, born 1961 in Iceland. Graduated from the University of Toronto in 1986. Post-graduate studies at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1988-90. Director of the Architecture Department of Reykjavik Art Museum since 1993.Author of writings and exhibitions on 20th century architecture in Iceland.Visiting Professor in Design Theory at the Iceland Academy of Arts in Reykjavik.
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator