Harpa Concert Hall
Ideal: Ideal for architecture, music, modern design, and short in-city stops.
Ólafur Elíasson designed the façade: roughly a thousand steel and glass modules inspired by crystallized basalt constantly shift color with light and weather. Construction halted during the 2008 crisis — when private investors went bankrupt the site stopped and the country debated whether to spend on it at all. The state decided to continue, the hall opened in 2011, and in 2013 it won the Mies van der Rohe, Europe's most prestigious architecture prize. Entry to the foyer is free.
Quick facts
- Built
- 2011
- Opened
- 13 May 2011
- Architect
- Ólafur Elíasson
- Architectural style
- contemporary architecture
Facts from Wikidata, photos from Wikimedia Commons.
Did you know?
How did the building escape being left unfinished?
Construction stopped in the 2008 financial crisis when the country's banks collapsed. The government judged that leaving a half-built shell in the city centre would be worse for morale and finished the project.
What do the glass blocks on the façade represent?
Roughly 1,000 twelve-sided glass modules designed by Olafur Eliasson reinterpret Iceland's basalt columns. The light across the façade shifts constantly through the day and the seasons.
Do you need a ticket to go inside?
No. The foyer and staircases are open to the public free of charge all day; only concerts are ticketed. Seeing the glass façade from inside is the building's most striking feature.
Why go?
- To see Reykjavik's modern architectural face
- For glass façade details and harbor views
- To enrich a city route with a concert, event, or short interior visit
Travel tip
Even without a concert, stepping inside to see the architecture makes a nice short break.
