In 1990 Reykjavík Geothermal Heating Authority launched an open competition for a housing design for the hot water wells. PK Arkitektrar’s provided the winning design out of over 80 entries.  This is the first of these buildings with others scheduled accordingly. These structures will stand as a symbol of the city of Reykjavík’s commitment to the utilization of the natural resources.

The Geothermal Pump Station is a 14 sqm steel structure (3 by 6.5 meters) constructed of two stainless steel clad curvilinear walls separated by a door at each end. It prefabricated at an off site shop and transported in one piece to a hot water well. The building houses the mechanism on top of the well, that pumps the water to a central control from where it is distributed throughout the city.

More about this interesting project, drawings, photographs, and history of Reykjavík’s change to geothermal heating following the break.

Architects: PK Arkitektar
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Design Team: Pálmar Kristmundsson and Björn Skaptason
Consultants: Fjarhitun Engineers
Project Area: 14 sqm
Project Year: 1996 to date
Photographs: Spessi, Rafael Pinho, and Pálmar Kristmundsson