Terta transforms decommissioned power station in Iceland into colourful site for "learning by playing"

Icelandic studio Terta has transformed the site of the historic Elliðaárstöð power station in Reykjavík into a hub for learning, culture and play, restoring and updating its existing buildings with colourful accents.

The cluster of early 20th-century industrial structures sits nestled in a protected green landscape that has remained largely untouched as the Icelandic capital developed around it.

Elliðaárstöð’s operations ceased in 2014, and after it was formerly decommissioned in 2019, Reyjavík Energy launched an open competition for ideas to transform it into an educational space celebrating its heritage.

The winning design by Terta treats the entire site as an open-air museum grounded in the idea of “learning by play”, renovating its historic structures to house a visitor centre, cafe and exhibition spaces and creating a series of outdoor play structures.

“The core idea was to create an inviting place, where science, education, culture, and history intertwine naturally and playfully,” the studio told Dezeen.

“The site’s greatest strength lies in its spatial character: a cluster of buildings that together create the atmosphere of a small village, offering opportunities for a diverse mix of programs – from education and research to exhibitions, culture, and public gathering spaces,” it added.

“Incorporating learning by playing into every part of the site – rather than confining the educational elements to a singular exhibition – informed all of our design decisions.”

The project involved a combination of restoration, reconstruction and new additions carried out in collaboration with the local Cultural Heritage Agency.

At the centre of the site, the visitor centre occupies the substation building, overlooking a concrete-paved plaza with a rainwater pool.

Opposite, the cafe is housed within the former blacksmith’s workshop and barn, reconstructed with a new steel structure and connected by a new glazed link.

To the south is a colourful water playground designed around the basics of hydropower, allowing visitors to pump groundwater, channel it through concrete ducts and create mini dams and reservoirs.

To the east, large sections of concrete pipe have been repurposed as play structures, and the base of a former geothermal drill rig has been painted in vibrant shades of yellow, red and blue.

Terta based this colourful palette on the colour-coding systems found in the plant, and it continues into the restored interiors with yellow-painted steel roof trusses in the cafe and graphic motifs based on lightning bolts and water droplets in the visitor centre.

“The inspiration came from the origins of electricity generation on the site – like the ceramic insulators, the wooden penstocks, and the hidden network of pipes running through the walls and beneath our feet,” the studio explained.

“We were equally fascinated by the visual language of the utility company itself – its materials, forms, infrastructure, and colour coding systems,” it added.

Other transformations of industrial sites recently featured on Dezeen include Dutch studio MVRDV’s conversion of a former cement factory in Shenzhen into a cultural district and Herzog & de Meuron’s transformation of a derelict power plant in Brooklyn into an arts centre.

The photography is courtesy of Terta.

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