• • uncube's editors are Sophie Lovell (Art Director, Editor-in-Chief), Florian Heilmeyer, Rob Wilson and Fiona Shipwright; editorial assistance: George Kafka; graphic design: Lena Giovanazzi, graphic assistance Janar Siniloo.
    
    uncube is based in Berlin and is published by BauNetz, Germany's most-read online portal covering architecture in a thoughtful way since 1996.

  In September 2015 uncube sent an editorial expedition team out to Iceland to get under the skin of one of Europe’s most fascinating and enigmatic geographical outposts.

   

  We fell in love of course, as did nearly a million other visitors to the island this year, but tried hard not to be too blinded by the beauty. We talked to architects, artists (well, one in particular), historians, planners and other locals in an attempt to form a picture that went beyond the postcard view.

   

  The snapshot we present to you here is by no means comprehensive. It is about the architectural mood of the moment: an attempt to grasp the confluence of influences that have led to a nation, always used to living on the edge – surviving in the face of weather, isolation, eruption or invasion – to yet another point of dramatic change as it shifts into being a global tourist destination.

    

  Welcome to the 40th issue of uncube! 

   

  The editors

   

  Particular thanks for this issue go to: Pétur H. Ármannsson, Peter Cachola Schmal, Steve Christer, Ólafur Elíasson, Halldór Guðmundsson, super/collider, Guðmundur Ingólfsson, Camilla Kragelund, Sebastian Schumacher, Sony Deutschland and Hjálmar Sveinsson.

  Cover photo: Sig Vicious

• COVER

  COVER

  Cover

  Iceland
• Table of contents

  Table of contents
• EDITORIAL

  EDITORIAL

  Editorial

  Iceland
• CASE STUDY

  CASE STUDY

  Northern Flights

  Leifur Eiríksson Terminal, Keflavík International Airport

  Text: George Kafka
• FOUND

  FOUND

  No Sleep Till Breiðholt

  Housing, horses and hip hop

  Text: George Kafka
• VIEWPOINT

  VIEWPOINT

  Wish You Were Here

  Arna Mathiesen asks: Refinancing Iceland with tourism – but at what cost?

  Text: Arna Mathiesen
• PHOTO ESSAY

  PHOTO ESSAY

  Spaces Create Bodies, Bodies Create Space

  An essay by Ólafur Elíasson

  Text: Ólafur Elíasson
• FOUND

  FOUND

  Home Turf

  Iceland's ancient rural vernacular

  Text: George Kafka
• FOUND

  FOUND

  Tin Skins

  Reykjavík's corrugated cladding

  Text: Rob Wilson
• FOCUS

  FOCUS

  Icelandic Domestic

  Focus on post-independence houses by George Kafka

  Text: George Kafka
• FOUND

  FOUND

  Notes from Nowhere

  William Morris' road trip

  Text: Fiona Shipwright
• CASE STUDY

  CASE STUDY

  The Road Less Travelled

  Route 1/Hringvegur

  Text: Fiona Shipwright
• FOUND

  FOUND

  Giving Shape to Space

  The geodesic genius of Einar Thorsteinn

  Text: Sophie Lovell
• ESSAY

  ESSAY

  The Harp That Sang

  The saga of Reykjavík's Concert Hall by Sophie Lovell & Fiona Shipwright

  Text: Sophie Lovell, Fiona Shipwright
• FOUND

  FOUND

  In the Round

  A fishy factory

  Text: Sophie Lovell
• CASE STUDY

  CASE STUDY

  Some Like It Hot

  Blue Lagoon Spa and Clinic

  Text: Rob Wilson
• FURTHER READING

  FURTHER READING

  Further Reading
• NEXT

  NEXT

  Next

  Zvi Hecker

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