CAPITAL AREA 91 OUTDOORS 2021
Harpa – everyone’s house Harpa, Reykjavík’s concert and conference centre, is designed by Batteríið Architects and Danish architecture company Henning Larsen. The glass shell of the building is designed by Ólafur Elíasson. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera are both based at Harpa, which is also home to the Reykjavík Big Band and Maxímús Músíkús! Harpa offers world-class facilities for events, including concerts, conferences, exhibitions, banquets or other cultural events. Harpa’s first concert took place in 4th May 2011. The largest hall in the building, Eldborg, can seat 1600-1800 people. The Harpa underground car park is partly below sea level and special measures had to be taken to ensure that the building remains completely dry.
The first musical work performed at Harpa was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. Around 32,000 people came to look over the building when it was opened, equivalent to a tenth of the population if Iceland. Altogether there are 19 air conditioning units within Harpa that together pump 214,000 cubic metres per hour. The building measures 28,000 square metres and stands 43 metres high. The base of the building covers 8000 square metres and 2500 tonnes of structural steel went into its construction, as well as 4000 tonnes of reinforcing steel. The Harpa name was announced at a ceremony on 11th December 2009. The winning choice was chosen from 4156 suggestions put forward by 1200 individuals.
