SMIÐJA - Parliamentary offices
The new building for the Icelandic Parliament accommodates offices, conference facilities, meeting rooms and a canteen for all members of parliament and support staff. The in-situ concrete structure is clad in six kinds of local stone and lined with oak, terrazzo, linoleum and stainless-steel.
The new building for the Icelandic Parliament accommodates offices, conference facilities, meeting rooms and a canteen for all members of parliament and support staff.
Recent archaeological excavations of the site revealed significant remains, including iron furnaces, that pre-date all previous traces of settlement in Iceland. It is a window into the nation’s past at the precise point where decisions are made to define its future. The diverse and multi-layered strata revealed in the dig trace the path of an entire society until its contemporary embodiment in the assortment of buildings of differing age, scale, material and function in and around the parliament site.
The land the early settlers occupied was over one and a half meters below the present street level. This is represented by a trench by Vonarstræti, the street demarcating the southern boundary of the site. Rising from the ancient datum the façades of the new building rise in distinct layers of smooth cut indigenous stone. They echo the layers of history that the archaeologists exposed and set a framework for layers of the future.
The sheer ashlar surface is regularly punctuated by windows, each marking an office, and larger glazed surfaces to committee rooms and circulation areas. On the south façade the upper floors are folded in to open the heart of the building to light and weather. The building is topped by a clearstory containing the canteen and special meeting rooms.
At the junction of Tjarnagata and Vonarstræti, the main entrance is guarded by a cornerstone bearing the text Alþingi (Parliament) in a script lifted from the earliest known manuscript containing the word. The stone itself is carved from virgin lava spewed from the recent eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula.
Above one’s head a rod hangs in equilibrium, an installation by the artist Kristinn E. Hrafnsson. It is a metaphor for our society that regularly loses its balance but, as history has taught us, inevitably regains its composure. The supporting text on the adjacent wall reminds us of how and why we are as we are at any given time.
ALLT LEIDDI TIL ÞESSARAR STUNDAR - EVERYTHING LED TO THIS MOMENT
Inside the building, beyond security control, the trench continues showcasing a stone path, one of the most significant finds of the archaeological excavation. It has been reinstated in precisely the same place and elevation as it was unearthed. Smaller artifacts from the dig are displayed in custom glass cabinets floating above the path.
The ground floor houses conference rooms with attendant media and catering services. The rooms are of varying size and height with flexible walls to facilitate multiple configurations. The six conference rooms each have floors featuring off-cuts from one of the six stone types used on the façades. The the naturally irregular stone fragments are laid in a north-south pattern in accordance with the earth’s magnetic field, one of the most powerful, yet unseen forces of nature. This directional force is echoed throughout the building in elements such as stone floors, oak carpentry, grilles, lighting and ceilings.
The conference rooms are arranged about an informal breakout space with a central court that draws daylight and fresh air deep into the heart of the building. Surrounding the court a rich red ceiling of entanglement by artist Þór Vigfússon is wrought by hand from a by-product of aluminium production.
The stone strata of the external façades are continued in the main stair and lift core to orientate the users as they rise or descend through the layers of time. This experience is further augmented by the oak staircase that responds tactically and aurally in quite a distinct manner from the floors it serves.
Offices and meeting rooms for the various committees and parliamentary staff are located on the first floor in two wings that overlook a central garden with planting common to the surrounding wilderness. It is an oasis of calm in the heart of the city that also gives fresh air and daylight to every office.
Some of the most delicate artifacts found during the archaeological dig were glass and amber beads that help us understand that, even in this harsh, unforgiving land, our ancestor’s lives were not confined to pure survival. The scale and hues of the beads are respected in the fine glass mosaic used in washrooms and serving areas throughout the building. On the first floor the mosaic is green, and this colour is repeated in the choice linoleum and upholstery.
A later phase is planned to connect the first floor to the new offices of the Speaker of Parliament and other existing parliament buildings on the site. Allowance has also been made for a bridge to the adjacent Oddfellow building in the event of future expansion.
The individual offices for the members of Parliament and their support staff are on the second and third floors. Meeting rooms are distributed throughout the floors and shared, catering and cloakroom facilities are clustered centrally. On these levels the office wings are joined by cable-stayed bridges that offer an airy alternative to air-conditioned comfort.
The canteen and general meeting rooms are on the top floor with generous sheltered terraces and gardens. It is here that the sense of urban containment and security of the lower floors is exchanged for panoramic views to the mountains on the horizon.
During the design process care was taken to ensure that every element of the design utilised materials and technologies that were tried and tested and, wherever possible, readily available locally. Similarly, daylight, views and spatial arrangements were fine-tuned to the specific location of the building.
Stone for the cladding was sourced from building sites, open quarries and abandoned quarry sites that were rewilded as part of the acquisition process. No virgin ground was broken.
Universal access was considered from the earliest stage of the design and consultation with representatives from all appropriate bodies continued as the project developed to ensure an optimal user experience for all, irrespective of race, gender or ability.
All tables and cabinets were custom designed for the building and manufactured in local workshops. Conference seating, side chairs, sofas and side tables were also designed and made in Iceland. The parliament had an extensive collection of classic Icelandic chairs, and these have been refurbished and reupholstered for use throughout the building.
