Hallgrímskirkja

Icelandic Architecture
Icelandic architecture is an interesting subject. Iceland had something of an architectural revolution in the 1930s with the adoption of concrete construction and the popularity of the "Functionalism" style. A sort of eclectic borrowing from Art Deco and the Bauhaus style. It can be seen in the Akureyrarkirkja in Akureyri, the boarding school at Laugar, in homes in Reykjavik and culminates in the Hallgrímskirkja. The latter appears very modern to us, almost in the Brutalism style, yet was called "old fashioned" when completed. It is very beautiful, the tower representing a glacier or waterfall and the apse a Viking helmet. The traditional Icelandic style was the sod roofed and walled church and house. This gave way in the 19th century to the Danish stone style in the city and the rise of the many Carpenter Gothic wooden churches in the countryside. Wood frame and then corrugated iron took over as building materials at the same time.