Firm： EON architecture / Architect - Designer

Type： Commercial › Office

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2005

SIZE： 25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

Parliament Square, Reykjavik Iceland - Offices of the Parliament.

The building houses the offices of the Parliament in Iceland, it bridges the last big gap in the building block by the parliament square, the main square of the city center,

The building envelope picks up the scale and materials of the surrounding buildings with a modern design twist to it. This influence of the surrounding buildings is obvious visually and by it the building connects and completes the circle of buildings around the square that are from different times in Icelandic architectural history, and completes it.

The usage of dolerite ties this contemporary building to the old house of parliament that is on the opposite side of the square, the circulation void between the sites where is the main entry into the building and to all floors, splits the building into two is marked with glass towers and completes the dialog of the square where there are towers on all other three corners.

By the entry to the upper floors of the building there is a huge dolerite rock. The dolerite symbolises the respectable role of the building, as the offices of the parliament. There is a carving into the stone, with information on the building.

The conjunction between materials is emphasised throughout the design.

Use of natural stone against the use of metal cladding emphasises the different building parts, and the different nature of the materials, were the thin metal forms the facade where it curves out, is a contrast to the heavy stone face. Light steel structure of the towers is visible, through glazed planes that makes the circulation in the house visible.

Where the tower brakes out of the building it marks the entry and the vertical and horizontal circulation through the building. Early this century, there was a path called ‘the Cow Path’ going between two properties, where the building splits open. This path was used by farmers, that would bring their cows through to feed them grass at the square. This path is evident throughout the building where it is split apart and enclosed with glass