Harpa (concert hall)

Harpa Music Hall and Conference Centre
Harpa Concert Hall
General information
Type	Concert hall & conference centre
Location	Reykjavík, Iceland
Address	Austurbakki 2
Town or city	Reykjavík
Country	Iceland
Coordinates	64°9′1″N 21°55′57″W / 64.15028°N 21.93250°W / 64.15028; -21.93250
Current tenants	Iceland Symphony Orchestra The Icelandic Opera
Construction started	January 12, 2007
Completed	2011
Opened	May 13, 2011
Cost	€164 million
Owner	Portus
Height	43 metres (141 ft)
Technical details
Floor area	28,000 square metres (300,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Henning Larsen Architects Batteríið
Other designers	Ólafur Elíasson, facade design Artec Consultants, acoustics design
Main contractor	ÍAV
Other information
Seating capacity	1,600–1,800 (Eldborg, main hall) 450 (Norðurljós) 750 (Silfurberg) 195 (Kaldalón)
Website
Venue website

Harpa is a concert hall and conference centre in Reykjavík, Iceland. The opening concert was held on May 4, 2011. The building features a distinctive colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland.

Harpa was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in co-operation with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The structure consists of a steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colours. The building was originally part of a redevelopment of the Austurhöfn area dubbed World Trade Center Reykjavík, which was partially abandoned when the financial crisis took hold. The development was intended to include a 400-room hotel, luxury apartments, retail units, restaurants, a car park and the new headquarters of Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

Construction started in 2007 but was halted with the start of the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis. The completion of the structure was uncertain until the government decided in 2008 to fully fund the rest of the construction costs for the half-built concert hall. For several years it was the only construction project in existence in Iceland. The building was given its name on the Day of Icelandic Music on 11 December 2009, prior to which it was called The Reykjavík Concert Hall and Conference Centre (Icelandic: Tónlistar- og ráðstefnuhúsið í Reykjavík). The building is the first purpose-built concert hall in Reykjavík and it was developed in consultation with artistic advisor Vladimir Ashkenazy and international consultant Jasper Parrott of HarrisonParrott. It houses the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the offices of The Icelandic Opera.