Abandoned Houses in rural Iceland is an on-going research project that started in 2011.
Run by R3 Radgjöf, Gláma-Kím architects and Stapi, it aims at mapping all abandoned houses on the southeast coast of the country.
The research project includes conducting interviews with local inhabitants, research of the history of each area and development of ideas for the future use of the abandoned farms.
The Ministries of Industry, Energy and Tourism in Iceland nominated the research project for The Motivational Award in September 2011. It was also nominated for the President of Iceland’s Innovation Award and for the DV Culture Prize for Architecture.
We talked to Steinunn Eik Egilsdóttir, who participated in the project and did some of the research work.
I have been a part of the research team in the project from the very beginning. We travelled to every farm basically looking for abandoned houses in the specific area last summer. We spoke to many natives as well as specialists in registration and cultural heritage.
It is a privilege to get to know the nation and the nature this way, absolutely invaluable experience for my future in the profession.
As the photos from the last summer’s research reveal, a lot of these houses are charming and well-made and preserve a great deal of history. The abandoned houses symbolise the people’s perseverance and hard work to live in an inclement country. Their condition is variable but the majority can still be restored and put to good use. The population in the countryside has decreased considerably, but by restoring some selected houses and using them in the tourist industry, thinly populated areas could be brought back to life. We inherit this history and we must cherish the past and present it to our new generation and guests.
This project, regarding preservation, restoration and utilisation of abandoned houses in rural Iceland, was launched last year by few individuals who had had this idea in their mind for a while. They were interested in researching the array of these houses and explore how they can be put back in use. The preparatory group consisted of architects, historians and more. They contracted us, five university students, to make the research and register abandoned houses, something that has never been done before here in Iceland.
Some of the houses were full of old, wonderful things and furniture.
The Vidburdssél farm building shows the building methods of the first concrete houses in Iceland, using corrugated
iron for a concrete mould.
Below the first book published on the project (only in Icelandic) that features images of the farms, tells their stories and shows their locations on the map.
The Icelandic Centre for Research sponsored the project, along with a number of municipalities. The National Architectural Heritage Board in Iceland sponsored part of the publication of a book detailing the whole research, published in September 2011.
Images Courtesy of Steinunn Eik Egilsdóttir/the Abandoned Houses project team
© Abandoned houses in rural Iceland
16 comments
cobalt developments says:
Aug 13, 2013
I love the last picture before the books so much!! Thank you for sharing this
Calgary Show Homes says:
Aug 18, 2013
These pictures are beautiful, I can’t imagine abandoning my home for any reason
Mike says:
Aug 20, 2013
Are any of these for sale? Especially the house in picture 12?
Fred H says:
Aug 21, 2013
Fantastic images and interesting concept. Thanks for your work and for sharing.
Islandske napuštene kuće | Dizajn svaki dan says:
Aug 21, 2013
[…] Iz priloženih fotografija moguće je vidjeti sve čari ovih davno napuštenih prostora koje okružuju nevjerojatne ljepote prirode. Abandoned Houses in Rural Iceland je i višestruko nominiran za nekoliko turističkih i arhitektonskih nagrada. Intervju sa pokretačem, kao i više fotografija, možete vidjeti na blogu Islandskog Dizajn Centra. […]
Mary says:
Aug 21, 2013
I think it’s a wonderful idea to fix up at least some of these old houses to attract a certain kind of tourist, one who is looking for some solitude out in beautiful country to either enjoy with friends/family or to work on a book or art project. The big question on everyone’s mind will be “Does the place come with wifi?”
sari says:
Aug 22, 2013
So glad to hear!
sari says:
Aug 22, 2013
Thank you Fred!
sari says:
Aug 22, 2013
Nice to hear from you Mary! I agree – this is such an interesting project, I look forward to seeing what comes out of it 🙂
Bergþóra Kvaran says:
Aug 22, 2013
Hi hi I am one of the students that are working on this project. I don’t know if any of these houses are for sale. The best thing to do, if you are interested in rebuilding an abandoned farm, is to contact the owners, sometimes it is the state that owns these houses but often it is the farmer from the next farm. You can get informations about the ownership of these houses through the national register or if you have a special house in mind then you can send an e-mail to eydibyli@gmail.com and we can try to help you.
Best regards
Bergþóra
Five Alive Friday | Checks and Spots says:
Aug 23, 2013
[…] Abandoned Houses in Rural Iceland is an ongoing photographic series that is definitely worth a look. […]
Abandoned Houses in Rural Iceland | A New Hype says:
Aug 30, 2013
[…] READ MORE […]
Abandoned Farm | krankhandle says:
Jan 12, 2014
[…] It is surely the next step from this fantastic lyrical project: http://oldblog.honnunarmidstod.dev/abandoned-houses-in-rural-iceland/ […]
Samson says:
May 23, 2014
Are any for sale??
Sari says:
May 26, 2014
Might well be – I’m afraid I don’t know. I’d recommend contacting the project team for further enquiries regarding locations and contact persons for the houses. Good luck!
Eyðbýli á Íslandi | Gláma·Kím says:
Jan 12, 2015
[…] eydibyli.is facebook.com/Eydibyli blog.icelanddesign.is/abandoned-houses-in-rural-iceland/ […]