Harpa Concert Hall

Award-winning architecture: from the renowned “Mies van der Rohe” award to the “Best Performing Space” design award to the “Best Cultural Building of the World” at the International Architecture Festival. The Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik is considered one of the buildings best representing contemporary architecture.

The project is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration between Henning Larsen Architects and Batteriio Architects from Denmark and the Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The dynamic 28,000 square meter building rises at the East Harbour of Reykjavik, exactly where land and sea meet. Harpa provides concert and conference facilities and offers four spacious main rooms as part of a comprehensive project for the development and revitalization of the harbor. The concert halls appear like a solid structure when seen from the foyer and is reminiscent of the rocky coast of Iceland. The large-scale, open facade of the building forms an expressive contrast. The centerpiece is the main hall with 1,800 seats.

The key elements of the building are light and transparency: The striking facade consists of a three-dimensional structure that combines steel and multi-beveled glass in innovative ways. More than a thousand twelve-sided, translucent glass blocks reflect the light in various incidence scenarios like a kaleidoscope and generate an exciting interplay of colors, which creates a dialog between the city and the interior of the building. Modern bathroom design is reflected in all sanitary rooms, which are fitted with Duravit Starck 2, Starck 3, Duraplus and Architec.