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Place-Based Architecture:

In the Perspective of Policymaking on an Urban and National Level

Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir, Reykjavik, Iceland

Pictured: Guðlaug Baths. Photo: Basalt Architects.

Text: Malin Zimm
Research: Angelica Åkerman

Table of Contents – Perspectives on Place-Based Architecture

In the Perspective of Policymaking on an Urban and National Level
Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir, Iceland

Roundtable

On the 14th December 2023 a roundtable was held with the contributing experts to this article, discussing the topic further.

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Iceland is still forming its national basis for education of architects. As recently as this year, 2023, the first architects and planners to complete all of their education in Iceland, and not leaving the country for studies in Europe or in the Nordic neighboring countries, got their exams. The head of local plan in Reykjavik, Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir, explain this in relation to the state of the small nation in relation to architecture and planning.

The making of an understanding of place-based architecture

The architecture culture is still under formation, and in some environments, the term architecture is connected to an idea of luxury consumption and not something that serves a community on all levels and make good places for people. In the same spirit, even a discussion on quality can cause misunderstanding, as Sturludottir recalls a workshop with the national housing committee, where the word quality represented something, you cannot afford – and this is the reality of a sector dominated by developers and builders. The architecture policy in Reykjavik was named a “city design policy”, in order to be more self-explained and less intimidating. This is why our tools are just being formed, and making a difference in a tradition of plans and development are carried through without the presence of the architectural profession. A typical local plan in Iceland is a mix with what the city owns and what the private sector owns. The level of control is mostly “how high” and “how much”- according to Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir. The lifestyle with more than one car per household as a symbol for the good life is contested now, which is good, but parallel to this we are also reminded of our vulnerability, Sturludottir points out, referring to the current development with an imminent eruption in a village that was evacuated in early November.

A hole in the discussion of heritage and value

Sturludottir points out the lack of perspective on the built environment, where it is easy to see the value of an old timber building, but not the value in more recent concrete buildings that embody a lot of material value but does not trigger a cultural response. Icelandic heritage is very old, but it seems to obscure the discussion of value of the existing built environment. It has been an eye-opener for Sturludottir who in 2020 was engaged in discussions of heritage on a planning level with representatives for Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. It struck her that there was a “hole in the heritage discussion”, where most of 20th Century architecture, like the brownfield areas, are thrown out and torn down without discussion. The post-war period development has been dominated by road infrastructure, with financial post-war support from the US – and with the money came the car culture – from out of place.

Demonstrate solutions that come from architecture, introducing architecture and quality to finance – to take up the competition with money as the main driver of the built environment.

The need for long-term perspectives

Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir thinks about the word “place” which in Icelandic translates to “staður”, meaning to be present, to be in the place. It is much more than a geographical location or a geographical space, and it also translate as the ambiguous term “local”. In her role, Sturludottir instead uses the term “city for people” as it is the most intuitive way of expressing the ambition of reconnecting with the local assets, heritage and conditions. She emphasizes that a city must be built for people, even though the past had tried hard do plan the city for cars. All the while, Sturludottir is implementing architectural thinking and targeting areas that have potential, introducing and nurturing quality in everyday life, not just in icon buildings like the opera or the city hall. There is a need for beacons, though, but as Anne Mette Boye, who wrote the new architecture policy for Aarhus, pointed out – we need to have “place before space before buildings” – we need “byliv before by before bygninger”. She also reminds us of the need to demonstrate solutions that come from architecture, introducing architecture and quality to finance – to take up the competition with money as the main driver of the built environment. In Iceland, the long-term perspectives have shortened both in the perspective of private finance, with regards to the high interest rates. In the natural landscape, Icelanders experience the short perspective of the geologically intensive activities that is literally changing the landscape under their feet. Sturludottir is curious about the development of the Keldur district in eastern Reykjavik, the result of an international competition was to create a development strategy, where the Swedish architecture office Fojab won. This could be one of the beacons of architecture – as Sturludottir calls them – that Iceland needs so well, demonstrating the power of place-based planning, the space in between, cooking with the local flavors. 

Info

Name/Case: Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir
Where: Reykjavik, Island
Who: Borghildur Sölvey Sturludottir, City architect Reykjavik
Level/Scale: regional, municipality

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