DesignMarch for architect enthusiasts

DesignMarch is just around the corner but the festival will take over Reykjavík from 3rd to 7th May. This year's program contains around 100 exhibitions and 120 events. It's therefore safe to say that everyone should find something of their interest.

Do you have a special interest in architecture? Are you curious about new and exciting approaches when it comes to our built environment? Here are a few events that might quench your curiosity.

The exhibition Adapt & Evolve, which will take place in the Nordic House, introduces a part of Neuza Valadaz's PhD research where she's been developing research and prototypes in carbon negative materials such mycelium blocks and ways to reduce our carbon print and adapt to a changed environment in the building industry. On display will, amongst others, be a Playhouse, samples of mycelium blocks and biochar.

The fertiliser factory in Gufunes opens its doors to the public following recent renovations. Within the walls of this former factory sits the Fire Station (Slökkvistöðin), a new design studio and exhibition space dedicated to architecture and spatial arts. This year Slökkvistöðin takes part in DesignMarch for the first time with four exhibition featuring a range of architectural and design projects that cover humanity and nature, circularity and hopeful futures. An opening party for all exhibition will be held on Friday 5th May from 4 to t PM.

At DesignMarch this year, The Icelandic Architect Association, in collaboration with GreenBuilding Council Iceland, will host a seminar were peoplee, environment and the future will be priority. The seminar will take place on May 5th at 1 PM in Gróska, Bjargargata 1, 102 RVK.

What if the future is not yet lost? What kind of changes and decisions must be made in our society and our built environment today to give us a bright tomorrow? The exhibition EXPO2100 – Home and City in the Future is a statement for a radically positive vision of the future. It opens six windows into the year 2100, based on the latest research of Nordic Works, an award-winning urban architecture collective from Finland and Norway. The exhibition takes place in Artic Space, a new exhibition space at Óðinsgata 7.

The new headquarters of Landsbankinn at Reykjastræti 6 are designed to boost collaboration, contribute to sustainable development and a dynamic and lively culture in the city centre. On Saturday 6th May, Landsbankinn will hout fou guided tours of the building, led by Halldóra Vífilsdóttir, Project Manager of the undertaking, and Helgi Mar Hallgrímsson, architect of the building. Each tour takes around 30 minutes. This is a unique opportunity to get an inside look at this new and exciting structure in the heart of Reykjavík. Please register, as places are limited.

For the fifth time at DesignMarch, local ambassadors are inviting designers from their home countries to pair with Icelandic creatives over a common theme. From 12:00 - 2:00 PM on Thrusday 4th May, Ambassador Anu Laamanen has invited designers Miia-Liina Tommila (FI) and Arnhildur Pálmadóttir (IS) to her residence in Iceland, hosting an afternoon of design centerd conversations.