Glass building taking shape in Icelandic capital

A new visitor centre has been opened in Reykjavik which houses a scale model of the Icelandic National Concert and Conference Centre.

The concert and conference centre, which is due to open in early 2009, has been designed by Olafur Elisasson and will feature a glass bricked pedestrian street.

This will act as a link between the main conference and concert halls to a hotel and Laekjatorg Square, and highlights the popularity of glass as an architectural feature.

Other ways in which glass is used to add to a buildings aesthetic and practical qualities include roof lights, sky lights and glazed and bespoke canopies.

The visitor centre overlooks the site on which the concert and conference centre is being built, and includes a ten-metre panoramic window through which visitors can see construction work taking place.

Included in the National Concert and Concert Centre complex will be a 1,800 capacity concert hall, a further conference hall with 750 seats and a rehearsal hall for 450 performers.

In addition, the centre will house a restaurant, cafes, offices, exhibition space and smaller conference and rehearsal rooms.

Other architectural features of Reykjavik are the Icelandic parliament and perlan – a glass dome resting on five water tanks.