Virtual Building Tour – Nyp Guesthouse by Studio Bua

©GIOVANNI DE ROIA

The latest instalment of the 2021 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” was held on 13 May with a visit to the Nyp Guesthouse, in West Iceland.  Originally constructed in 1936 as a sheep farm overlooking Breiðafjörður (a nature reserve and bay between the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Westfjords in West Iceland), the building was deserted in the 1970s and was close to ruin before the new owners began rebuilding it in 2001.  

Mark Smyth from Studio Bua and Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir led us through an insightful tour of their Icelandic Guesthouse, a winner in the Emerging Practice - Small Project category of the AIA UK Chapter Design Awards.  

According to Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir, an Icelandic architect, the Guesthouse has become a cultural hub by hosting exhibitions, workshops and other events.  During the tour, it was explained that the project brief was to make better use of the existing facilities and allow for additional, multi-functional spaces for various cultural activities. This would involve renovating the main house along with rebuilding and enlarging an adjoining sheep-shed. The design includes a naturally lit entrance hall and link to the farmhouse - a deliberately generous connection that allows it to simultaneously function as an exhibition space. 

The main house is divided vertically into two volumes, with the original living quarters to the south and a barn for hay storage to the north. Studio Bua has cleverly inserted an additional floor into the barn, doubling the usable area, whilst creating a raised event space that captures views to the mountains and the fjord via a series of strategically placed openings. The architects described their approach ethos as focusing primarily on local turf homes and reinterpreting some of the original farmhouse historical features. The project made use of local labour, to the extent possible, whilst utilizing local techniques and materials – for example, stone-turf retaining walls and handmade tiles from locally sourced clay from the next valley.

©GIOVANNI DE ROIA

Mark Smyth discussed the external cladding of the building; how the combination of timber frame and corrugated metal cladding has become mainstream in Iceland, replacing the traditional turf house construction.  The siting and orientation of the Guesthouse subject it to strong, prevailing winds that come down the valley from the north and east. To withstand the extreme weather, the rear of the building and the new extension were overclad in corrugated aluzinc.

Whilst concrete in various forms has been used in buildings for centuries in Iceland, during the 1930's, it rapidly replaced conventional timber construction. Concrete was used extensively in the original farmhouse, even down to the window frames. The distinctive coarse concrete aggregate characteristic of the Nyp Guesthouse is the result of pebbles sourced from the local beach.  To highlight the distinctive quality of the existing concrete, the original walls have been retained and exposed, both internally and externally, as much as possible. The principal facades facing the access road and fjord have been repaired and given a thin silicate, allowing the texture of the concrete to be expressed.  The colour of the silicate render replicates the original colour of the façade.

It is hard to imagine a “sustainable” construction in such a harsh environment, however, the Nyp Guesthouse is an exemplar of sustainable design. The building itself is recycled.  The building is constructed primarily with reused building materials – for example, driftwood salvaged from a neighbouring beach, which has been used as columns to support the new floor. Components such as steel handrails, timber doors and beams were salvaged from other building sites in old town Reykjavik.

In a similar spirit, the labour force was made up of local builders and craftsmen, including the neighbouring farmer who provided a cement truck. A specialist local mason restored the unreinforced concrete walls, which were fragile due to prolonged exposure to the elements.  The whole project is a testament to the design team’s innovative spirit and its ability to convert a deserted and ruined building, poetically, into a local cultural centre for the Westfjords community in Iceland.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its virtual building tour series for the 2021 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2020 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects and interested parties the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link for further information to participate in the next tour of One Fen Court by Eric Parry on 10th June 2021.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA