DIY Reykjavik Pavillion

By:  | December - 8 - 2009

Shift Architecture
Reykjavik, Iceland


© Shift

© Shift


DIY Reykjavik is a Do-It-Yourself, non-profit design experiment initiated and designed by Arnaldur Scram and Simon Stigsby of New York-based design firm Shift, in collaboration with Angelica Biddle and Dr. Sigurður Gunnarsson. The pavilion is a temporary installation situated in front of the Nordic House in Reykjavik and coincides with the 2009 Reykjavik Design Days and 2009 Reykjavik Art Festival. The structure is declared ownerless and represents a stepping stone for the local community to question Iceland’s future.

The structure consists of one thousand aluminum triangles – every single piece different in size, shape, fold, and configuration. It was designed and processed through a variety of 3D software, laser-cut then folded and riveted by hand. Aluminum was deliberately chosen due to its unique structural challenges, its abundance and recyclability, but also for its potential to generate debate about the current and future use of the material. Iceland’s substantial aluminum processing and its direct link to the island’s natural energy resources has caused much political controversy surrounding the damage of the landscape from geothermal power plants and dams built to support the aluminum industry. But despite this opposition aluminum is a popular cladding material in Iceland. The installation is about this political controversy, and about rethinking both a new economy and a new technology. Through it Shift aims to provide inspiration and instigate critical assessment of Icelandic society.


© Shift

© Shift


© Shift

© Shift


© Shift

© Shift


© Shift

© Shift

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