Residents of Þingholt are critical of architectural firm Batteríið arkitektar, who designed the new town centre in Selfoss, for proposing a new style for a building project in Þingholt in Reykjavík.
At Þingholtsstræti 21 in the capital, there are plans to build on top of a house that stands on a one-hundred-year-old foundation, as well as a rear building that faces Ingólfsstræti.
Residents are critical of the proposed new buildings and consider it important not to disturb the historic streetscape, while the architects argue there is no need to repeat what has already been done.
A group calling itself Arkitektauppreisnin (Architectural Uprising) believes this is an excellent opportunity to build in the spirit of the old houses in Þingholt, following the example of other cities, such as the Old Town in Stockholm, where it is mandatory to build in a traditional style.
Minjastofnun (the Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland) is also among those who have expressed concerns about the appearance of the new building and believes it would be preferable for it to follow the established streetscape.
“There is a particular local spirit here in Þingholt, and the characteristic buildings in this area are these timber houses and the corrugated iron houses,” says Þórhallur Bjarni Björnsson, spokesperson for Arkitektauppreisnin.
We don’t believe that just because there are some newer buildings and a few functionalist ones built after that era, that it justifies building something that is out of keeping with the streetscape.
Þórhallur says it is incongruous that the same architects who designed the new town centre in Selfoss now want to introduce a new style into old Reykjavík
The architects disagree, saying it is important to tell the story of architectural development through new buildings, especially given the variety of architectural styles already present on Þingholtsstræti.
They argue it is more honest to draw on the existing buildings than to merely imitate them.
Sigurður Einarsson of Batteríið arkitektar, who designed the new buildings at Þingholtsstræti 21, says
Source: Ruv.is
