Music hall — largest concrete casting day in the history of Iceland
One of the biggest concrete casting projects in the history of Iceland began early in the morning of the First Day of Summer, when BM – Vallá cement mixers began pouring the first cubic metres of cement into the foundation of the concert hall and conference centre building in the East Harbour area of downtown Reykjavík.
A large section of the foundation was cast in this phase, which required some 2,300 m3, or 5,700 tonnes, of concrete, the equivalent of that needed for 120 single-family homes. The job required nearly 300 full loads from eight-m3 cement mixer trucks, and it was completed in 11 hours.
Iceland Prime Contractor has a number of large projects in progress; however, the largest by far is the so-called East Harbour project, which stretches over a 60,000-m3 area reaching from Ingólfsgardur to Laekjartorg square. The total permissible construction volume for the entire area is some 200 thousand m2, and the music hall and conference centre itself is roughly 24 thousand m2.
Construction has been underway since last summer. The first construction work involved the removal of pipes and the installation of drainage and approach pipes. Thereafter, the building called Faxaskáli was torn down, and the excavation for the foundation of the concert hall and conference centre began. The new building is scheduled for completion and delivery in December 2009.
