Inspired by the local area’s rich cultural and indigenous histories, the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion built by Konstantin Ikonomidis is a public installation made from transparent glass bricks located between two fjords in Sarfannguit, Greenland.
Nature has been the ultimate source of inspiration to designers and architects for centuries. While its sheer power and unpredictability are enough to send chills through us, the force of nature finds softer power in its vulnerability and resilience.
Taking to Sarfannguit, Greenland’s cultural architecture and treacherous topography to guide his creative process, architect Konstantin Ikonomidis built the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion, a public installation stationed in between two fjords that meet on the eastern tip of the local area’s hills.
Architect Konstantin Ikonomidis used the fjords and mountainous terrains of Sarfannguit, an environment Greenlandic Inuit have lived in harmony with for millennium, as his muse when constructing the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion.
Hoping to bring locals and visitors closer to the scenery and heritage that have enrichened the area’s cultural and indigenous history, Ikonomidis designed the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion with the utmost respect for the landscape it stands atop.
Keeping the structure close to the local area’s traditional building techniques, Ikonomidis anchored the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion to the rocky mountain by drilling 40-mm holes into the terrain for vertical beams to form the installation’s foundation.
Two horizontal metal bars propped upon the in-ground beams bend to form two semi-circles. Working with Wonderglass, a London-based glass company, Ikonomidis laid bricks on top of the horizontal bars to give rise to the semi-circles. Carved through the middle of the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion, Ikonomidis cut an entryway and vista point for visitors to walk through and enjoy the icy landscape.
Reflecting the fjord-ridden landscape through glass bricks, Ikonomidis hoped to show visitors and locals the morphing environment as time passes and seasons change. The glass bricks also play with the rising and setting sun to bring out crystalline shadows and light displays.
Designer: Konstantin Ikonomidis
