harpa Archives

Wednesday Window – pt 37

Another playful exploration of the architectural aspects of the magnificent Harpa Concert Hall of Reykjavik

After last week’s lighthearted window reflection selfie, I’m continuing the study of the amazing Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik. It might feel a bit indulgent to enjoy the magnificence of the architecture, but I just can’t help myself. The striking design of the Harpa, with its geometric shapes and dynamic interplay of light, never ceases to captivate me.

There are many photography opportunities throughout the entire building, beckoning both amateur and professional photographers alike. Although I might not do them justice the way my good friend, George Fellner, does, I’ll share another one here. George has an incredible eye for the architecture through his compositions, and his ability to capture the essence of a structure is truly inspiring.

The ceiling is definitely my favorite subject in the overall Harpa oeuvre. It allows for lots of playful exploration of angles, surfaces, reflections, colors, and lights. Each time I look up, I see something new – the way light dances across the textured panels, creating a kaleidoscope of hues that shifts with each passing moment. It’s a remarkable experience that invites contemplation and creativity, making every visit feel fresh and exciting. I find myself continually drawn back, eager to discover new perspectives to share, and to further appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship that makes Harpa a standout gem in Reykjavik’s architectural landscape.

This particular angle, and interplay of lights, dark, mirror, and captured reflections gives me a sense of an old-time video game, where the protagonist hops from one block to the next avoiding hazards and gathering points. The vivid contrast between the warm glows and deep shadows creates a nostalgic atmosphere, reminiscent of pixelated graphics and simplistic yet engaging gameplay mechanics. Each jump across the precarious platforms feels like a thrilling challenge, as the main character cleverly dodges enemies and navigates through intricate levels filled with secrets and surprises. This representation not only evokes fond memories of childhood gaming but also invites me to reminisce about the excitement of discovering hidden treasures, all while competing for the highest score in a vibrant, digital landscape.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 36

Today, we go for a lighthearted offering of a joyful selfie taken during a photography tour in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.

After just over a week of the return engagement on my blog, I’m beginning to hit my stride and having some fun with the posts thus far. The process has been both invigorating and enlightening as I’ve revisited my work and sought new angles to explore. I’m working my way ahead a little bit for the Wednesday Window series; after looking through a good amount of my shots from the 2022 photography trip to Iceland, there lurks a series of images of Harpa Concert Hall to be featured over time. Each photograph captures the stunning architectural design and the vibrant interplay of light that the building is known for, presenting an exciting opportunity to share not just visuals, but also the stories and experiences behind them. I look forward to weaving narratives that complement these images, drawing readers into the atmosphere of Reykjavik and the striking presence of this cultural landmark.

For today’s featured image, I present you with something lighthearted and rare in my collection: a selfie that captures a moment of pure joy and spontaneity…

Walking around this magnificent architectural structure, if one pays close attention to the reflection in the south-facing facade, a spot can be found that mirrors the viewer in one of the lower windows. Of course, this is a lot easier to find in the presence of an experienced photography tour guide, such as Loren Fisher! Our little group huddled together, enabling me to capture this particular moment. As you can tell from the facial expressions, we enjoyed the contrast of this instance of levity to our ‘serious’ photography (maybe not so serious). It’s great to have fun in everything that we do!

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 23

With this Wednesday Window we’re back at the Harpa Concert and Convention Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland.

After last week’s Wednesday Window taking a look into a lovely holiday tableau, I thought it would be interesting to take a view to the outside. Now, I didn’t want to take a rather obvious approach of looking out through a window. Rather, I was thinking about a bit of indirection.

Here’s this week’s view…

We’re looking at the ceiling interior of the Harpa Concert and Convention Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland. They very cleverly made the ceiling an art installation through the pattern, which reminds me a bit of the Q*bert game from the 1980’s. The windows in this image are reflected by the ceiling, allowing us to look outside on a rather overcast day.

Harpa is an astonishing work of architecture, which is filled with interesting bits to photograph. Hope you enjoy this one!

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 14

The Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik features a stunning façade with more than 700 embedded LED strip lights, which create a visual art installation at night.

We’re back at Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre. There is much more to Harpa’s intriguing facade than the collection of windows of different types of glass. Artist Olafur Eliasson led the facade design and created a massive art installation! In last week’s post we covered the dichroic glass and the interesting colors that this provides. This week we go into the dark side of Harpa!

Here’s an image from the video below…

There are more than 700 LED strip lights embedded in the building’s façade, each approximately 1.5 meters (4.6 feet) long. Each fixture is incorporated into a slim aluminum extrusion, specifically designed to match the geometry of its specific quasi-brick glass and mounted to the rear vertical profile of the steelwork. This placement avoids overwhelming people inside the foyer with too much light, while offering the best diffuse and indirect light distribution. The fixtures’ optics are composed of a series of filters, diffusers, and lenses and were developed for the project in collaboration with lighting manufacturer Zumtobel.

Harpa’s Night Art

This video shows a short segment of the windows changing colors. As it was rather windy, I have removed the audio.

Much appreciation to Architect Magazine for their September 17, 2012 article titled Harpa-Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 13

The Harpa Concert Hall features a unique glass facade with ten different types of glass, including three dichroic varieties that reflect vibrant colors during the day.

After last week’s reception of the Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre, I’ll reprise this amazing structure with a bit of a detail view. One of the unique features of the glass facade is that it provides bits of color. Yes, there are a large number of same sized panes of glass. No, that doesn’t mean there is no variation.

Here’s a more detailed look…

There are 10 different types of glass used across the building’s facades, including three dichroic glasses. These dichroic glasses are yellow, green and orange, so that they reflect blue, red and purple. These create a nice touch during daylight hours, as you can see in the image.

Next week, I’ll focus on the night time view, which is thanks to the efforts of artist Olafur Eliasson.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 12

We explore an aspect of Iceland’s renowned Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre in Reykjavik; a truly inspiring visual gem!

In this episode we’re going back to Iceland and a specific building in Reykjavik that is a photographer’s dream. The Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre is an amazing and award-winning structure by the city’s waterfront. The shapes that are created through this amazing glass-clad environment are eye-catching both from the outside and the interior.

Today, we take a look from the exterior…

A myriad of windows adorn the facade, which becomes even more interesting at night, as colors play across them (might be a future post). Just imagine the approach that was taken to construct such an outer shell. From any angle, there are visual stimuli that interest many photographers and will keep us coming back to experience the views under different light and weather conditions.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Wednesday Window – pt 9

The post reflects on the beauty From 2022, a stunning sunset reflection, featuring a ship, bicycle, and the Harpa building.

You probably noticed that strolls through various cities produce a nice variety of window images. This week is no exception to that pattern, and it’s among my favorites!

Here we go with something to reflect upon…

I captured this image during a stroll in Reykjavik in 2022, as I was captivated by the powerful reflection. The color of the sunset in all its rich hues and the contrast of ship and bicycle stood out to me. Getting such a combination of subject elements is just irresistible!

Oh, and the building providing this reflection is stunning as well! It is Harpa! You can expect more photos of this building in future Wednesday Window posts.

For more windows, please check out Monday Window for this week; it’s a great place to explore!

A Walk through Reykjavik (part 3)

Mirrors and reflections abound in Harpa

In this conclusion of this 3-part post (cf. part 1 and part 2), we visit one of the most interesting architectural constructs in Vesturbær: Harpa.

Harpa is a concert hall and conference center. Its construction started in 2007 as part of the redevelopment of the Austurhöfn area; due to the financial crisis work was put on hold until the Icelandic government decided to fund the rest of the costs to finish the half-built concert hall in 2008.

Positioned on the harbor and facing the Atlantic Ocean, Harpa is built as a steel frame that is clad with glass of various colors to give a sense of the basalt landscape of Iceland.

The facade is intriguing, as it allows one to look through parts of the hall, and invites the viewer to look for reflections and color patterns; there’s even a particular pane that is appreciated by selfie takers for its reflection of the views!

The facade and overall structure are very appealing, but there’s one feature that really caught my attention: the ceiling!

The ceiling had a wonderful pattern of mirrors, lights and angles that are just wondrous to behold. Every turn of the head gives the eyes another set of inputs that intrigue and amazement to entertain the brain!

One literally could spend hours exploring the reflections in the ceiling and the patterns that appear; while not spending that much time, I did take a good number of photographs. Here’s another view:

If you are familiar with the Q*bert game of the 1980s, you may also see the geometry that was the hallmark of that game’s 3-dimensional look and feel. The ceiling provides countless views like these, as we keep our eyes open and minds receptive to the varied views.

I look forward to the possibility of one day experiencing a concert in this wonderful space and having more time to explore all its views and angles.