From Iceland — Pave The Parking Lot, Put Up Paradise

Pave The Parking Lot, Put Up Paradise

Published December 5, 2019

Sam O'Donnell
Photo by
Mandaworks

The Transportation Authorities agreed at a meeting on Wednesday to a new land development plan for Hlemmur, Vísir reports. If all goes according to plan, the area will be completely transformed in the coming years. The City Council still needs to approve the landmark redevelopment proposal.

In December 2018, a total of three proposals for the future of Hlemmur were received from the National Landscape Architects, DLD land design, and Mandaworks, Vísir reports. The City of Reykjavík’s website states that the proposals of the architectural firms Mandaworks and DLD have been selected for ongoing development work at Hlemmur to redesign the area.

“The main objective of these changes is to create a good environment at Hlemmur for pedestrians, a place that will play an important role for life and transport in the capital area,” the City website says.

In realising the proposed plans, the area will be pedestrian- and bike-friendly and car-free. Motorised traffic will be diverted from the area, a new bike lane will be laid, and Hverfisgata and Laugavegur will be better linked with Bríetartún.

Small buildings will establish new public spaces in the eastern part of the new city centre, and the northern part will feature trees and hedges to mark the boundary of the area. Mandaworks proposed a table tennis bar, and DLD proposed greenhouses, but the entire project is still in the planning stages.

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