For quite a while now, Iceland has been known as a beautiful place to visit for its amazing landscapes and views. I went there for its diverse architecture. Icelandic architecture goes as far back as its viking times when houses where adjusted to local conditions. Now, very modern influences and architecture can be seen there. I spent most of the time in and near Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital.
I arrived at Reykjavík at 3 am with freezing temperatures but manage to arrive one hour after with the help of a GPS that was in the rented car (it was offered to me and I accepted it for a small extra fee. I strongly recommend it). Soon after I was in search of 16 major architectural buildings and structures from a list I had previously made spacificly for this trip. The Harpa Concert Hall (see above) was one of such buildings in my list. I photographed this build inside and out for 4 days during various hours.
Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavík, Iceland.
The Ion Adventure Hotel was another building that I had in mind to photograph. It strange yet modern look got my attention during my month long Iceland’s architecture investigation. Here are a few shot I took during my two day visit to this hotel. The first day was lost do to rain. The second was partly cloudy but the shots were good. This boutique hotel with 45 rooms was once an abandoned in. The modern design was made by Minarc Design Studio. Just over a month later after learning about this building, I was photographing this icelandic modern architecture.
Iceland is very well know also by it’s unique architecture in churches. Here is the Mosfellskirkja. Designed by Ragnar Emilsson, it is all made by three sided planes.
In the city of Reykjavík, there is the Hallgrimskirkja. With 74.5 meters high, this Lutheran church is by far the largest in Iceland. It is named after the poet Hallgrímur Pétursson. This architectural project took 41 years to complete. Strange and some how odd, this church is probably the most photographed architecture in Iceland.
I’m very interested in returning to Iceland and do some more architectural photography.