By converting an existing industrial port into a mixed-used development that blends industrial, residential, commercial, cultural, and institutional areas into one space, an ambitious masterplan is imagined for a pedestrianized and sustainable quarter at Hafnarjörður harbour. The overall purpose of the design is to maintain and strengthen the city’s unique maritime cultural heritage, while further augmenting the contemporary local cultural scene and experiences in the neighborhood. This inspires and increases the diverse opportunities of the urban spaces, while at the same time guaranteeing good communication and traffic safety for both locals and visitors. By organizing sequences of public programs on a wooden platform along the coastline and by ameliorating the waterfront and docks to become an uninterrupted socially sustainable public space, the current harbor area is transformed into two main areas: One area will contain various residential typologies and creative commercial areas for startup companies. The other zone of the existing port will be reinforced into an area with harbor associated programs such as fish markets, public aquariums, restaurants, the headquarters of the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, and a cruise ship terminal. This urban spatial structure will ensure a flexible network between the harbor and the city center and improve the local identity of Hafnarfjörður.

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