This year Smiemans will build a 7,250 m2 garden centre in Reykjavík. The international architectural firm PK Arkitektar has designed this mega project. The large shop windows, the green roof, the vertical wooden blinds and the architectural facade with continuous canopies give the garden centre the biophilic look that suits the company.
In the middle of the 90m-wide building with asymmetrical roofs, a central hall of 25m wide and 12 meters high with a mezzanine floor will be realized. This floor will mainly contain offices, canteen and social areas for staff. The garden centre will have a fully catered restaurant and attractive shop-in-shops. A roof along the facade of the outside area ensures that customers can shop comfortably even in bad weather. The warehouse is equipped with a green roof. This stockroom will house a sales point of Stihl, manufacturer of heavy garden tools.
Because the weather conditions in Iceland are more extreme, all materials have been adapted to make the construction climate-resistant and energy-efficient. Sound-absorbing material must limit the noise nuisance from the adjacent busy road.
With this project, a long-cherished dream comes true for the Icelandic family who have been running the existing Garðheimar garden centre for two generations. In a new to be developed area near the capital, the first work has already been started for the largest garden centre in Iceland.
