Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Photo Diary: Architecture of Isafjordur



One of my favorite this about Isafjordur, the scenic north town in the west fjords of Iceland, was the quaintness and Nordic beauty of the homes. I am no expert in architecture, but rural Icelandic homes have some unique qualities that are apparent to even an amateur observer.

First, thanks to some detail provided by a local, these homes are made from either wood or concrete, and insulated with steel - which is what you see rusting on the outside of some of the houses. Although wooden houses were more common in the past, concrete is the standard now. 

All Icelandic homes but be insulated to protect from the cold and wind, so the houses are very well reinforced.

The color of the houses is also another interesting choice. Color is always a response to the environment. And unlike the white stone houses in Greece, which contract so well with the blue of the sea, or the muted black or white homes of Japan, which class with the emerald green landscape, Iceland’s wildly colored homes are liked in response to the snowy cloudy brown and grey environment – a where color can shine in the deepest winter darkness.


It was great to take a small walk around town and observe all the finer details of this very unique architecture. The weather was pretty erratic and half these photos were taken during a snowstorm while the other half were taken only moments later in clear weather. 






































5 comments:

  1. hi there.

    just a little comment about the houses.

    icelandic houses and generally made from concrete or wood. the old houses you are photographing are made from wood, and the material they are insulated/decorated with is steel. not aluminum, hence the rust you see for instance on the first pic.

    many of the houses as can be seen are concrete. and for the last century that has been the main thing to do, but wooden houses where the norm before that and have always been build along with the stone concrete ones.

    very little if any of the aluminum that is made here actually ever sees iceland after it is produced, those are foreign companies that sell it outside of iceland.

    hope you enjoyed my little hometown.

    cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey - thank you for this explanation and clarification! I'll edit the post to correct the details. It's pretty cool that Isafjordur is your hometown. What a great place! Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge.

      Delete
  2. A side target of this white paper is to animate conversations and sharing of genuine encounters of starting, directing, and the general effect of introducing the approval results.arquitectos zaragoza

    ReplyDelete
  3. Architecture symbolizes the history, culture, traditions, technology and climate of the nation. In primitive ages man was used to live in caves but with the passage of time trends changed. https://shuttlesky.in/

    ReplyDelete
  4. They will have dealt with local councils before and are experienced in this area. https://www.redlinebuilding.co.uk/cost-to-build-a-house-in-london

    ReplyDelete

The Gambia: From Banjul to Basse

Last fall, I had the honor of accompanying a client and their funders on a trip to The Gambia. It was my first time in West Africa and the s...