Chain of human pylons planned for Iceland

By Matthew Moore
from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

A proposal to install a chain of human-shaped pylons across Iceland – transforming an ugly utility into something of remarkable beauty – has won a leading architecture award.

The pylons would be around 150ft tall Photo: Choi + Shine

The “Land of Giants” plan would have seen dozens of metallic figures erected across the island’s volcanic landscape.

Each humanoid electricity pylon could be twisted into a different posture, allowing the structures to project moods fitting with their surroundings.

Choi + Shine, the US architecture practice behind the proposal, said that the humanoid towers would be “powerful, solemn and variable”, and represent a modern take on the ancient Easter Island statues.

According the proposals submitted to an Icelandic energy company, the pylons would stand around 150ft tall and be constructed from steel, glass and concrete.

Despite their striking appearance, costs would be kept low as the figures would require only minor alterations to standard pylon designs.

The firm wrote: “These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.”

The judging committee of the High-Voltage Pylon Competition, which was established to find an innovative design for Iceland’s new pylon network in 2008, gave the proposals an honourable mention.

Human pylons Photo: Choi + Shine

Although Landsnet, the company responsible for managing the country’s electricity network, decided not to push ahead with the plans, their originality was honoured this month by the influential Boston Society of Architects.

Land of Giants was one of four winners of the BSA’s annual Unbuilt Architecture Award, which recognises the boldness of unrealised projects.

While the human pylons not be to everybody's taste, they point towards more aesthetically pleasing alternatives to the imposing towers that currently dominate the British countryside.

In June, conservationists warned that the country's most beautiful landscapes – including the Mendip Hills in Somerset and Dedham Vale in Suffolk – are under threat from a new wave of high-voltage pylons.

Iceland Dance Party

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

Eyjafjallajokull gave Iceland kind of a bad image recently, but this lovely promotional video should go a someway towards correcting that.

http://inspiredbyireland.com/

Volcano Eruption in Iceland Followed by “Dirty Thunderstorms”

From: http://incredibleworld.net/

Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has continuing to gather our attention. The huge plume of ash which has covered almost whole western and northern Europe has made a lot of troubles to passengers and air traffic landing down the most of plane flights over the Europe.

But it still continues to send large amounts of ash into the air and photographers managed to catch some photos of rare phenomenon called a “dirty thunderstorm” which follows the eruption.

It is really amazing and also scary to see those photos where boiling stones and plenty of strong and shiny thunders are “dancing” and all that thing is followed by dark plume of ash.

It is not completely clear what is the real cause of such thunderstorms but scientists believe that they might be caused by ice particles mixed with volcanic ash and lava. As you can see from photos, those “dirty thunderstorms” are pretty intensive and at this moment, the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano has took an apocalyptic look, considering the fact that it caused the breakdown of whole air traffic system for almost a week and we don’t know when it is going to end.

Image credits: Vilhelm Gunnarsson / EPA

Volcanic ash cloud from Iceland grounds all UK flights

By: Press Association

from: http://www.independent.co.uk/

MARCO FULLE / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

Spectacular pictures taken from a helicopter at sunset on April 14, 2010 show how ash from an Icelandic volcano is severely disrupting travel plans for British air passengers

Iceland’s Gorgeous Passive Solar Hof House

by Alexandra Kain

Deep in the northern chill of Iceland, just outside the arctic circle, the Hof House sits snugly within its landscape. Built on an existing estate, Studio Granada Architects salvaged whatever materials possible from the site to be incorporated into the new residence, converting telegraph poles into a sun screen and basalt pillars into stepping stones. Even the grass on the green roof came from local site leftovers after clearing way for its foundation. Designed for the extreme weather conditions of the Skagafjörður Fjord, the Hof House relies on passive solar design, geothermal heating, and some pretty hefty concrete walls.

The Hof House’s exterior cedar walls hug the massive concrete structural walls and will age gracefully with the passing seasons. The hexagonal shape formed by slices of the salvaged basalt pillars are repeated inside, bringing a continuity of design from the outside in. Geothermal heating comes up from the ground, warming the stone floors and providing heat and electricity throughout the house. The remaining energy needs are sufficed by hydroelectric power. The windows are oriented to not only capture the Southern sun, but also to create a frame for the magnificent surroundings of the cliff islands of Drangey and Málmey and the hills of Þórðarhöfði.

Studio Granada’s Hof House has been nominated for and awarded myriad prizes for its design, including the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture: the Mies van der Rohe Award for 2009.

+ Studio Granada Architects

Via Noticias Arquitectura

Iceland's Coalition Government Collapses

By CHARLES FORELLE

Iceland's government collapsed Monday, days after its prime minister called for early elections amid popular anger over a financial crisis that has gutted a once-flourishing economy.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced Monday that he and his cabinet would resign immediately. The move came after his Independence Party failed to come to terms with the Social Democrats, its main partner in Iceland's coalition government. Mr. Haarde was due Monday afternoon to present his resignation to Iceland's president.

Mr. Haarde was working to form a new government, his spokesman said, but Social Democrat leaders were demanding a fresh face.

Associated Press

Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde, right, addresses journalists at the parliament in Reykjavik on Monday.

"The government's actions in the last weeks and months were not swift enough," Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, the leader of the Social Democrats, said Monday, according to Agence France-Presse.

It is far from clear who will run Iceland until elections scheduled for May. Ms. Gisladottir proposed a fellow Social Democrat, Johanna Sigurdardottir, but Mr. Haarde's spokesman said the Independence Party—which has a plurality of seats in parliament--is determined not to hand over the prime minister's office.

That could open the door for the Independence Party's second-in-command, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, currently education minister.

Iceland's president, who holds a largely ceremonial post, has authority to designate a person responsible for forming a government.

How Iceland Collapsed

12:48

WSJ's Andy Jordan examines how Iceland's economic miracle came to an abrupt end and explains why the world should care about the collapse of the small country's financial system.

Iceland becomes the second European nation to lose its government in the global crisis -- Belgium's resigned last month after a scandal involving aid to a fallen bank. It is perhaps the world's hardest hit: Last fall, three big banks -- virtually the entire banking system -- collapsed, and the island's currency went into freefall.

The twin currency and banking crises have caused a startlingly swift reversal of fortune for Icelanders, per capita once one of the world's wealthiest people. Today, inflation and unemployment are soaring, debt is mounting and the banking sector that provided cushy jobs and fueled a consumption boom has vanished.

Anger at Iceland's leaders has been palpable for months. Protests in front of the parliament that began last fall drew crowds of thousands that quickly turned raucous—pelting the parliament building with eggs and rolls of toilet paper, and displaying effigies of Mr. Haarde.

Up until last week, Mr. Haarde had been defiant, saying Iceland—which has accepted a $2.1 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund—could not afford political chaos as it tries to rebuild its economy.

But Friday, he said his doctors had discovered a tumor of the esophagus, and that he would call for early elections in May and stand down as the party's chief. Leaders of the protests said that wasn't enough. Demonstrations continued over the weekend. By Monday, the coalition had broken and Mr. Haarde faced open criticism from his partners.

At the root of Iceland's troubles was a outsized banking system, which grew wildly overseas and built up foreign liabilities many times the size of Iceland's economic output. When the credit crunch struck, the banks faced difficulty making payments, and Iceland's central bank didn't have the foreign currency needed to bail them out.

Write to Charles Forelle at charles.forelle@wsj.com