Verkís wins the Icelandic lighting award

Óðinstorg in downtown Reykjavík has won the Icelandic lighting award, for exterior lighting. The project will represent Iceland in the 2022 Nordic Lighting Prize, held in Sweden this fall.

Darío Nunez, Architect / Architectural Lighting Designer M.A., accepted the award on behalf of Verkís last friday.

Verkís designed the lighting of the square in collaboration with Basalt architects.

About the project:

Winter and Darkness are almost synonymous in Iceland, so the night scene for this square was critical in the overall urban concept. Óðinstorg square is located in the heart of Reykjavík, but it was not used previously as a living are, but mainly a parking lot. The City of Reykjavík launched an urban design competition with the idea of providing this site with a much livable urban character. The nighttime strategy played a critical role to win this competition, and lighting designers were involved since the very beginning of this project.

The approach was not illumination, but rather a more holistic vision of this area for the night. This nightscape vision carefully reviewed all elements that will compose the project’s nighttime experience.

Following this vision, the lighting strategy used the elements composing the urban and landscape design, and looked for every opportunity to integrate lighting into them. The purpose is to create an inviting atmosphere even when the weather challenges you to be outside.

Area lighting was solved by discrete poles that would never compete with the other urban elements. The lighting plan also needed be coherent with the master lighting plan that the City of Reykjavík is currently developing.

The lighting installation is also prepared for future connectivity, all luminaires are digitally addressable. The current programming runs different scenes depending on the season, and specific time of the day. But lighting control system and installation is well prepared for future needs.

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