Hasta La Ideas

Natural materials in modern forms standout at Iceland’s premier design fair

Iceland’s annual DesignMarch exhibition always impresses with its internationally renowned veterans as well as the next generation of influential designers. Now in its third year, the 2011 showcase introduced a range of furniture and product innovations. Below are a few of our favorites that stand out for their use of locally-sourced, natural materials.

Stáss Ornaments‘ colorful tables (above left) lend a cheerful ambiance to any room, and their flat-pack design allows for eco-friendly shipping.

Young product designer Ragnheiður Ösp hand embroiders wooden stools (above right) by drilling holes into the smooth surface and weaving locally-sourced wool directly through it. The beautiful patterns add texture and create an utterly unique aesthetic.

Ólöf Jakobína’s stackable Lísa candlestick holders (above left) are handmade from Icelandic porcelain. We love the flexibility of a row of candles with a single holder, or a group of candles with varying stacks for a multi-height display.

One of the best examples of form and function we saw was the Wood/Wood/Wood paper towel holder designed by Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnad and Halla Björk Kristánsdóttir (above right). The aptly named product is made entirely of native wood and comes in multiple color combinations.

Made of 100% Icelandic wool, Kúlan (above left) is a playful solution to acoustic problems. These colorful little orbs improve issues with echos, standing waves and volume isolation by both diffusing and absorbing sound waves.

A sturdy wooden frame combined with a minimalist approach, the Fengr coat rack is a great example of functional elegance. Fanney Long Einarsd&#243ttir’s sculptural design incorporates multiple surfaces to hang your heavy coat and a dish for keys or loose change (above right).

Birgisson Design displays ingenuity with this interesting take on the traditional teacup (above left). The studio breathes new life into the once discarded by using reclaimed teacups found at local flea markets.

Longstanding admirers of his work, we were excited to see Sruli Recht‘s latest innovation—a metal record stand that puts a music collection on display rather than hidden in an unsightly stack.

Epal, Reykjavik’s most prominent design shop, is likely to carry many of these items (hopefully soon!).

Rhubarb-infused caramel from Iceland gives the ancient veggie a new taste

Nicknamed the “pie plant,” rhubarb is an ancient vegetable known as much for its medicinal qualities during the Liang dynasty as it is currently popular for its unusual tart flavor—perfect for desserts. The stalk is also interestingly a cold weather crop, making it ideal produce for the difficult climate of Iceland, where a few years ago students from the Academy of Arts put it to use in hard candy caramel.

Working with the nonprofit Farmers and Designers United initiative, the then second-year students created Rabarbía—a “factory and a laboratory in one” that experiments with new ways of using rhubarb. The consortium created a tasty toffee-like candy called Rhubarbbrittle, which contains real bits of the vegetable without overpowering the buttery sugar flavor.

With equally delightful packaging based on the colorful rhubarb plant itself, Rhubarbbrittle is a fresh take on the primitive vegetable. It sells at specialty shops around Iceland for ISK 1290 (just over $11).

Architects Bjorn Gudbrandsson and Egill Guðmundsson of Reykjavik firm Arkís have completed the Icelandic Institute of Natural History.

One of the first completed buildings in the Urridaholt masterplan for Gardabaer, Iceland, the building houses offices and research facilites for 50 scientists alongside the institute’s library and specimen collection.

Fritted glass wraps round the three separate volumes, decorated with a pattern resembling the formation of ice crystals.

Photographs are by Vigfus Birgisson and ARKÍS.

More laboratories on Dezeen »

The information below is from Arkís:

Icelandic Institute of Natural History

The Institute

The Institute of Natural History is a public institution, carrying out diverse research and monitoring of nature. Research is especially focused on botany, ecology, taxonomy geology and zoology. The new building for the Icelandic Institute of Natural History houses research facilities and offices for 50 scientists and other employees. Furthermore, the building houses the institute’s research specimen collections and scientific library.

Urridaholt Master Plan

The master plan for Urridaholt development has received numerous international recognitions and awards for planning and advanced sustainability measures; including the Award of the Boston Society of Architects and the Nordegrio Award. In addition, the master plan was awarded the second prize at the 2007 LivCom Awards.

The Urridaholt master plan is characterized by mixed use development and an emphasis on sustainable development, diversity and respect for both environment and community. Good access to outdoor recreation and pedestrian routes is ensured. Streets are designed to integrate surface drainage systems that have been specially designed to protect the ecology of nearby lake; Urridaholtsvatn.

Building Form

As one of the first buildings to rise in Urridaholt, the Icelandic Institute of Natural History will mark the entry to the development ́s business avenue. The building is divided into three parts by two fissures that visually reduce the building mass and communicate the gradual rhythm and human scale of the streetscape prescribed in the masterplan. Moreover, the three part plan figure feflects the composition of an insect body, thereby connecting building form to the Institute’s function.

Towards the north-west, the building rises upwards and out towards the spectacular view, its form mirroring the profile of Mount Keilir to the south. The fissures are bridged with transparent corridors and stairwells, accented with a bright green colour that becomes brilliantly illuminated at night. However, the primary purpose of the fissures is to provide the institute’s employees with breaks from the office environment on their way through the building. When passing through the fissures, one comes into strong visual contact with the surroundings; light, weather, sky and horizon.

Materials

Material palettes are simple and clear. A fritted glass screen envelopes the upper floors, providing a weather shield and supporting the building’s natural ventilation. The glass is fritted with a pattern specially designed for the building; a pattern derived from the familiar formation of ice crystals, which simultaneously diffuses the strict geometry of windows beyond the screen and provides soft shading from low sun angles native to northern latitudes.

While transparency and diffused edges define the glass screen, opaque surfaces of exposed concrete frame the glass and provide contrast to its attributes.

Sustainable Design Features

Urridaholt’s master plan is primarily defined by ecological awareness, a spirit that is carried on in the design of the building. Among the many sustainable design features are sustainable drainage solutions employed on and around the site. Those strategies include permeable surfaces for parking and swales for filtering and slowing down the flow of surface water. In addition, the building’s green roof, which is laid with local turf and moss, serves as a filtering mechanism for rainwater, as added insulation and as habitat for birds and native insects.

Furthermore, the previeously mentioned double facade facilitates effective natural ventilation. Each office is equipped with at least two operable windows; upper and lower window, improving the flow of fresh air through the space, from the in-between space of the double facade. Offices also enjoy plentiful daylight and spectacular views of the surroundings.

Project title: Icelandic Institute of Natural History
Completion: October 2010
Site area: 5.199 m2
Gross floor area: 3.515 m2
Function: offices, laboratories and specimen collections
Architects: Arkís
Bjorn Gudbrandsson architect
Egill Guðmundsson architect
Owner/clients: Natturufraedihus ehf
Location: Gardabaer, Iceland

See also:

.

Restello by Piercy Conner Architects	YJP Administrative Center by HHD_FUN	More architecture on Dezeen

From crowd surfing to the surreal, our photos from Iceland’s biggest music festival

Since the proliferation of music festivals means you have your pick of locations, choosing wisely can make the difference between a good and an epic time. To make sure the steep ticket prices and airfare is worth it, an appealing setting along with an exceptional line-up and the unparalleled parties that follow pretty much guarantees fun. One that continuously stays a cut above the rest is Airwaves, Iceland’s premiere music celebration that we decided to check out again after witnessing the insanity of the four-day event last year.

For 2010’s edition, we asked London-based photographer Craig Thomas to capture some of the Reykjavik flavor that makes this festival so remarkable. The upshot takes a look at the local youth culture, the liberally-minded city itself and of course, the music and venues that are the foundation of the whole scene.

Check out more of Thomas’ surreal photos and his personal commentary in the gallery below.

While hauntingly beautiful landscapes, elusive fairies and mind-blowing music usually come to mind when thinking of Iceland, DesignMarch, the second annual weekend festival organized by the Iceland Design Center, aims to add design to that list. Following an economic collapse of epic proportions, the nation is now looking for ways to reinvent itself on the world stage.

The event highlighted not only the tremendous can-do spirit of the Icelandic creative community, but also the long road to recognition that it faces. My visit was filled with equal amounts of inspiration and evidence of how far the country still needs to come. Studio visits to the shared space of Sruli Recht and Megan Herbert, and the design group Studiobility, showed Reykjavik at its most promising, while a brief tour of three local furniture manufacturers revealed an industry lacking the portfolio to compete in the global furniture market.

(Pictured at right, the Pirate Leg by Gudrun Lilja Gunnlaugsdóttir at the Studiobility exhibit.)

A walking tour of the local shops with designer Stefán Pétur Sólveigarson and a visit to the Reykjavik design emporium Epal (Iceland’s equivalent of Luminaire) led to some great discoveries, such as Jón Björnsson’s Sandskálar (above, seen at Kraum), a bowl made through casting black beach sand. However, these very tours also brought out how many Icelandic designers are forced to work independently, without any support. With the exception of the recently-launched accessory brand Lyng, few mainstream production opportunities for Icelanders with ideas seem to exist.

Running in conjunction with DesignMarch, the Reykjavik Fashion Festival consisted of a well-coordinated series of runway shows and presentations spearheaded by the incredibly gracious Rúnar Ómarsson, director of the snowboard apparel brand Nikita. The RFF, originally created as an antidote to the deflated Iceland Fashion Week, featured some incredible talent. Look for future Cool Hunting coverage on the forward-thinking stylings of Mundi (left) and the patterned knitwear of Lúka.

Design as an occupation is still an emerging concept in Iceland. In fact, the Iceland Academy of Arts Department for Design and Architecture is less than ten years old. Nurturing talent at home, enticing leading practitioners for visiting professorships, building a renowned curriculum—these things take both time and money. Still, I saw tremendous potential for the future of Icelandic design.

To truly emerge as a voice in the global design market, Iceland will require more than a festival. DesignMarch makes a great beginning but Iceland needs to plumb the depths of its collective consciousness, tap into region-specific raw materials and harness those mystical, folkloric qualities that will imbue products with resonant narratives.

Check out the slideshow below for some additional favorites, both old and new, from Reykjavik.