Harpa Concert Hall

Architectural Masterpiece at the Harbor

The Harpa Concert and Conference Hall at the old harbor is Iceland's most impressive modern building. The facade, designed by the Danish-Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson, consists of 714 irregular glass honeycombs in a quasi-crystalline pattern he called "quasi-bricks." The honeycombs are backlit with colored LED lights and glow in different colors depending on the light and time of day — a kaleidoscope that brings the Northern Lights to earth. At night, the light installation is a spectacle that illuminates the entire harbor front.

The architecture is by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects and the engineering firm Batteriið Architects. The building opened in 2011, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The construction almost didn't survive — after the crash, the project was on the brink, and many Icelanders protested against the costs. Today, Harpa is a symbol of Iceland's resurgence and won the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award of the EU for contemporary architecture in 2013.

The building houses the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra (Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands), the Icelandic Opera, and several concert halls (the largest seats 1,800 people). Even without a concert, the visit is worthwhile: The entrance hall with its geometric light patterns is freely accessible, and the restaurant Kopar on the ground floor offers top-notch cuisine with a view of the harbor.

The Harpa Shop offers selected Icelandic design — from ceramics to jewelry to vinyl from Icelandic bands. A significantly better quality souvenir shop than most on Laugavegur.