Akureyri re.vitalization
[collaboration with LOAD]type: urban planning
location: Akureyri, Iceland
year: 2005
client: Vision Akureyri
status: competition submission
project team: [LOAD+a10studio]
Silvia Banchini, Luis Falcon, Rafael Falcon,
Mariano Arias-Diez, Francisco Villeda.
DESCRIPTION:
on-ACTIVE CIRCLE
TECHNOLOGY + CULTURE
the project REQUIREMENTS:
All Akureyri's actors, from citizens and politicians to private agents organized a competition to achieve several objectives for the city of Akureyri, which could be framed in two main challenges:
1. to activate and densify the city center
2. to reinforce Akureyri as a Cultural center
POTENTIALS:
The City counts already with the following ptentials:
1. A University and seven Research Centers focused on Iceland environment specificities and technology.
2. Akureyri is overload in summer by 180,000 tourists by matter of its environmental qualities. The city is becoming a center of culture by meaning of its new Cultural Center recently approved.
LATENCIES:
1. The overnight stay average per person last year was 1.5 (summer 1.5, winter 2.2.)
2. Occupancy of he accommodation offer decrees from 77% in summer to a 6% in winter
3. High accommodation offer within winter time, but with 6% occupancy.
4. There is no urban activity, urban density: non regular urban offer for complementary tourist activities
PROPOSAL:
In order to achieve the objectives required by the competition we proposed both an Activity Model for Akureyri and a New Urban System for the city center. They should give to the city specificity within the northern Europe scene:
ACTIVITY MODEL:
- Youth specialized professions: increase the citizens density by specializing youth professions based on local technology. It will encourage parallel activities based on it. Increase the specialized events based on University Institutions and Research Institutes.
- Winter time offerings: both vacational seasons of the year should be adressed, the "bright" summer and the dark winter, Increasing the cultural offer related to the solstice events and reinforcing local cultural activities. Reinforcement of youth cultural activities for young families. Congress and seminars based on University and Research Institutions.
- Summer time offering: Increase the overnight stays up to 2.0 with urban attractiveness; Cultural events and open air summer festivals with local specificity with interest to both tourists+locals.
