Reykjavík’s landmark Lutheran church: a tall, pale concrete tower that stands upon the hill of Skólavörðuholt, looms over the capital city and appears to pierce the (usually) grey sky above.
Designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, it was intended to echo Iceland’s landscape of cooled lava, glaciers and hexagonal basalt formations.
The exterior is expressionist and monumental: a 74.5-metre tower flanked by wing-like stepped concrete forms.
Inside, the nave is as equally tall, pale and relatively plain, with pointed arches, clear glass and long ranks of seating. The feeling is not that of a regular, old and ornate church, but rather a sacred space built by an alien lifeform. Or, to some it may feel like a slightly too-perfect render of a church built for a video game.
Key features include:
- Minimalist, concrete facade & interior – reminiscent of a digital render
- Tall nave, seemingly out of place with it’s surroundings
- Strong fantasy/video game atmosphere outside of service hours
Photo credits: Tripadvisor photos , “Hallgrímskirkja” by Daniel Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0 , “Hallgrímskirkja” by Feylex Stones, CC BY-SA 2.0 , https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-concrete-building-4640878/ , https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-a-church-altar-3772159/ , “Hallgrímskirkja” by Julien Chatelain, CC BY-SA 2.0
