How was Harpa designed, and what makes the facade unusual?

Harpa was designed by Henning Larsen Architects in collaboration with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, who created the building's defining exterior — a geometric honeycomb facade of quasi-brick glass panels that catch and reflect light differently throughout the day. The panels are not simple flat glass: each contains a structural steel framework of hexagonal and pentagonal geometry inspired by basalt rock formations, fitted with colour-changing LEDs that animate the building facade at night. The effect is that Harpa appears to shift from emerald green to gold to deep blue depending on the angle of light and the season — in Arctic winter the brief sun tracks low across the southern sky, and the building glows amber for an hour before darkness returns. Eliasson's intention was to make the building feel like a geological formation at the edge of the sea: mineral and natural rather than industrial.

What performances and events take place at Harpa?

Harpa is the home of both the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra (Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands, ISI) and the Icelandic Opera (Óperán), performing across the building's four halls of different capacities. The main Eldborg Hall seats 1,800 and hosts the symphony's full-scale concerts, international touring orchestras, and major pop and rock events. The smaller Norðurljós (Northern Lights) and Kaldalón halls host chamber music, jazz, and contemporary performance. The building also runs the Reykjavik Arts Festival in late May–early June and the Iceland Airwaves music festival each November — events that draw international audiences specifically to Reykjavik. Guided tours of the building run daily and include access to areas normally closed to the public.

What is the story behind Harpa's construction during the 2008 financial crisis?

Harpa's construction coincided almost exactly with Iceland's catastrophic 2008 banking collapse — the building was conceived during the boom years, broke ground in 2007, and was delivered in 2011 in a country that had experienced the worst per-capita financial crisis in modern history. The original plan called for a large mixed-use development including hotels and apartments on the surrounding waterfront; the crisis halted that development, leaving Harpa standing alone on the reclaimed harbour land for several years. The Icelandic state ultimately decided to complete the concert hall as a point of cultural pride and economic signal at a moment when the country's global reputation was at its lowest. In 2013, Harpa received the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture — the continent's highest architectural honour — validating the decision to build it in the most difficult possible economic circumstances.

Harpa Concert Hall Reykjavik

Overview

Harpa Concert Hall stands at the intersection of Reykjavik's Old Harbour and the modern city waterfront, its geometric glass honeycomb facade changing colour with the Arctic light from hour to hour and season to season. Opened in 2011, designed by Henning Larsen Architects with the exterior by artist Olafur Eliasson, Harpa won the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2013 — the most prestigious architecture award in Europe — and has become Reykjavik's most internationally recognisable building after Hallgrímskirkja.

The building operates across four halls: the Eldborg Hall (1,800 seats) for major concerts and performances, and three smaller halls for chamber music, jazz, and intimate events. It is the permanent home of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera, with a programme that runs year-round including international touring artists and Reykjavik's major music festivals — Reykjavik Arts Festival in late May and Iceland Airwaves in November.

The atrium is free to enter and walk through at any time — a public space on the waterfront that functions as a lobby, meeting point, and exhibition space simultaneously. The glass geometry overhead creates an extraordinary play of light through the day, particularly in the low-angle Arctic winter sun that tracks across the southern horizon for just a few hours before setting. Evening LED illumination transforms the exterior into a shifting light artwork visible across the harbour. Guided tours run daily at set times and include access to backstage areas and an explanation of Eliasson's design philosophy.

Events Schedule

Facade geometry: Olafur Eliasson's quasi-brick facade module is a steel-framed pentagon-and-hexagon composite drawn from the mathematics of quasi-crystalline structures — patterns that tile a plane without repeating, giving the facade an organic irregularity despite its absolute geometric precision. The colour-shift panels contain layers of coloured glass that refract differently depending on viewing angle. Eldborg Hall: The main hall seats 1,800 in a horseshoe configuration, with an adjustable acoustic ceiling system that modifies reverberation from 1.5 seconds (for amplified events) to 2.1 seconds (for full orchestral performance). Night illumination: A programmable LED system behind the exterior glass panels allows the building's entire facade to be animated — Eliasson designed the default programme, but the building's team creates special patterns for New Year's Eve, national holidays, and major events.

Seating Guide

Harpa's construction history is inseparable from the story of Iceland's 2008 financial collapse — when the country's three major banks failed within a week, triggering the worst per-capita financial crisis of any country in the global recession. The building was mid-construction when the crash hit; the decision to complete it was politically controversial but ultimately vindicated by the EU architectural prize and by Harpa's rapid establishment as the anchor of a revitalised city waterfront. The building's position on reclaimed land at the edge of the Ægisgarður harbour represents a conscious effort to reconnect Reykjavik to its maritime identity — the Old Harbour had been an industrial working port for a century before being gradually opened to cultural and leisure use from the 2000s onward.

When to Visit

Building hours: 8 AM–midnight daily. Best natural light in the atrium: Midday in winter (November–February) when the low sun enters at a dramatic angle through the south-facing glass panels. Best exterior photography: Sunset, when the west-facing facade catches the last light and the LEDs begin to activate. Guided tour timing: The 10 AM tour avoids afternoon cruise-ship groups. Evening performances typically start at 7:30 PM or 8 PM — arrive 30 minutes early to enjoy the pre-concert atmosphere in the atrium. Café and restaurant: On-site, open through the day and into the evening before and after performances.

Admission and Costs

Atrium entry: Free — the ground floor public space is open during building hours (8 AM–midnight). Guided building tours: ISK 1,700 adults, ISK 700 children; run daily at 10 AM, 12 PM, and 3:30 PM in English. Concert tickets: ISK 3,500–12,000 depending on programme and seat; the Icelandic Symphony's midweek concerts often have availability close to the performance date. Iceland Airwaves festival passes: ISK 20,000–30,000 for the 5-day November festival. Photography in the atrium: Permitted and encouraged; the geometric glass ceiling is one of Reykjavik's most photographed interior spaces.

The Case for a Guide

Harpa rewards a deeper look than a photograph from the harbour can provide:

Olafur Eliasson's design logic: A guide who understands Eliasson's broader practice — his installations at Tate Modern (Weather Project), his Little Sun solar light project — can explain why the Harpa facade is a direct extension of his lifelong preoccupation with perception, natural light, and the experience of scale. The quasi-brick modules aren't simply decorative; they reference the crystalline structure of basalt in the same way Hallgrímskirkja references basalt columns.
The 2008 crisis context: A guide who was in Reykjavik during the kreppa (crash) conveys what it meant to complete a major cultural building in 2011 — and why the EU Prize in 2013 felt like an international signal of recovery at a moment when Iceland's economic narrative had changed from catastrophe to comeback.
Acoustic design of Eldborg Hall: The main hall's adjustable acoustic system — panels that move between different positions to alter reverberation time depending on whether the programme is orchestral, chamber, or amplified — represents some of the most sophisticated concert hall engineering in northern Europe.
Symphony and opera context: A guide familiar with the ISI's repertoire can recommend specific concerts and explain why Iceland's tiny population (370,000) has sustained a full professional symphony orchestra since 1950 — a ratio of musicians to citizens that would be unsustainable in most larger nations.

Tips for Visitors

Walk through the atrium for free — the public ground floor space is itself worth visiting without buying a ticket for anything. Time your visit for changing light — the facade photograph from the harbour is most dramatic at sunset or during the dramatic low winter sun. Book symphony tickets in advance — popular ISI concerts sell out, especially the December Christmas programme. Combine with whale watching — whale watching boats depart from the Old Harbour immediately south of Harpa; a morning tour pairs naturally with an afternoon building visit or evening concert. Iceland Airwaves (November) transforms Harpa into a festival venue alongside bars and smaller venues across the city — book passes months ahead as the event sells out internationally.

🎭 Harpa Concert Hall