Sitting in reykjavik sixi chen

SIT TING IN REYKJAVIK LSC FIELD TRIP

“It is of particular importance to emphasize what good sitting arrangements mean in all types of public space in cities and residential areas.”

----Jan Gehl

SIXI CHEN

SITTING IN REYKJAVIK

COUNTENS 01. REST AND WAIT

Sólland Cremation Cemetery, Hallgrímskirkja and Reykjavik Botanical Garden

02. CONVERSE

the University of Iceland and Harpa Concert Hall and Square

03. OBSERVE

Reykjavik City Hall and Austurvöllur

04. STUDY AND EAT

Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik Botanical Garden and Laugavegur Street

05. SUMMARY Sitting in Reykjavik

SIXI CHEN schen66@sheffield.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF DEPARTMENT OF REYKJAVIK THIRD YEAR FI 2

SHEFFIELD LANDSCAPE 2016 ELD TRIP

LSC FIELD TRIP, 2016

01. REST AND WAIT

Sรณlland Cremation Cemetery Location Map

Steps in Sรณlland Cremation Cemetery.

One of the most highly used seatings is steps by children and young people. By the way, this sitting place offers the opportunities to see events like lake, bridge and opposite well-designed cemetery. Thus, this is a well-protected place to rest and wait with an unobstructed view of the surrounding activities.

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SITTING IN REYKJAVIK A bench in Reykjavik Botanical Garden.

The bench provides a welcome opportunity to rest and catch people's breath when located along a hiking trail, with trees, shrubs and sculpture.

Benches in HallgrĂ­mskirkja Square.

There has been a strong emphasis on horticultural and aesthetic planting, and the simple bench seatings provide opportunities for visitors to rest and wait with a good views.

Grid Beds Plan in HallgrĂ­mskirkja Square 4

LSC FIELD TRIP, 2016

02. CONVERSE

A ‘U’ arrangement seating in the University of Iceland.

Seat­ing is also a location for conversation and dis­cussion among a small group of people. Particularly in the university, it is necessary to offer quiet seating place within some degree of privacy; thus, this is much easier to converse with friends and classmates.

Steps in Harpa Concert Hall and Square.

Well-designed public square offers good sitting opportunities; meanwhile, steps are especially popular for people to converse and discuss, because they are quite open and relaxed space within good outlook points as well.

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SITTING IN REYKJAVIK

03. OBSERVE Benches in Reykjavik City Hall.

Commonly, in the cities, many people enjoy sitting down simply to watch the world go by and to observe other people. For the seatings in Reykjavik city hall are to be placed near an area of major activities along a major walk and a busy corner, which would be ideal for observing others.

The Lawn and Bench in Austurvรถllur.

Mixed primary and secondary seatings allow people to look around, and surrounding buildings create an inside open space.

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LSC FIELD TRIP, 2016

04. STUDY AND EAT Table seatings in the Laugavegur Street in Reykjavik.

With limited lunch hours, budgets, and crowded restaurants, more and more Icelanders prefer to bring their own lunch to eat or enjoy ordered food outside sitting in groups at a table. On the other hand, peo­ple may tend to feel more at ease while seatings are placed against trees and buildings.

Special form seating in Reykjavik Botanic Garden.

Different people need different forms of seating. As for children, they like special and amusing forms to have fun and study. In the Reykjavik Botanic Garden, children were sitting on the sculpture facing their teacher, and they would be more concentrated than sitting in the classroom.

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SITTING IN REYKJAVIK

05. SUMMARY

Walls in Hallgrímskirkja Square.

Hallgrímskirkja is regarded as a landmark in Reykjavik, which attracts visitors and landscape architecture students. The walls and sculpture offers good views for people to sit down in order to draw sketches.

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According to narrative drawings and critical landscape qualities and functions, a well-equipped public space should offer many different opportunities for sitting -- primary and secondary seatings. Then, some of the most popular public seating places are benches, steps, walls, or other elements that directly affects the comfort and enjoyment of an ex­terior space. Thus, the most obvious role of seating in the exterior environment is to serve as a clean, dry, sta­ble surface on which to sit. Besides this, elements of seating may act as objects that aid one to rest or wait, converse, observe, and study or eat. At last, children and young people accept sitting almost anywhere such as floor, wall, steps, lawn or edges; but the old prefer to sitting on a comfortable wooden benches.