Inside Harpa Concert Hall looking out onto the harbor (in the capital city of Reykjavik)
The landscape of Iceland is powerful, dynamic, and rugged. It is a place of fire and ice, from glaciers to volcanoes to geysers to powerful crushing waves. The land is shaped by these incredible forces, and the very act of being among these natural wonders makes you realize man’s vulnerability in such an awe-inspiring sort of way.
The architecture in Iceland is not the elaborate intricately decorated sort of architecture you often find in other countries, including our own, but it is beautiful in its simplicity and reflects the transient nature of the surroundings, and the rugged harsh environment. Many buildings are clad in corrugated metal or other simple materials. Many are also painted bright colors reflecting the joviality of the people living there. Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center (Henning Larsen Architects collaborated with Artist Olafur Eliasson): such a beautiful reflection of the Atlantic Ocean above which it hovers, but also speaks to other natural wonders such as the basalt columns at the Black Sand Beaches outside Vik.
On one of the exterior terraces surrounding Harpa Concert Hall.
Inside the Harpa Concert Hall.
Walking up looking towards Hallgrímskirkja, a beautiful church (the largest in Iceland) and the sixth tallest structure in Iceland ( Architect: Guðjón Samúelsson)
Hallgrímskirkja church in the capital city of Reykjavik.
Basalt Columns at the Black Sand Beach outside Vik.
All images courtesy of Kelsey from the SLI Team.