A2F: Jigsaw puzzles of sustainable architecture

The emphasis for A2F is always on reducing the environmental impact of their architecture: choosing the materials that are best suited for the function of the buildings while taking the landscape, weather and social aspects into account.

In 2010, husband-and-wife team Falk Krüger and Adalheidur Atladottir established the architecture firm AF in Reykjavik. When Filip Nosek from Berlin joined them in 2014, they became A2F.

Atladottir talks enthusiastically about their holistic approach to designing buildings: “We work closely with our clients’ wishes from beginning to end.” To her, a building is part of the bigger context: the environment, the geology, the history and society that surrounds it. “I want to create structures that have positive social impacts wherever they are built,” she says.

She describes each project as a jigsaw puzzle: the requirements of the land, authorities and regulations that do not always allow for the client’s wishes. But Atladottir likes the challenge of putting the pieces together, creating buildings the client loves and which fit with their individual purpose.

The versatility of being a small company enables A2F to take on projects ranging from interior design and urban planning to larger architectural developments. “We can adapt and work with any project, no matter the size, and taking part in each stage of the process gives our clients a continuity in the relationship we develop with them.”

When Atladottir was ten years old, she wanted to become a teacher, an artist or an architect. She has achieved all three, lecturing at universities in Reykjavik and being a partner at A2F. She reflects on how art plays a part in architecture: “The art is combining the aesthetics with the technical aspects. When these two things come together, you have achieved something quite beautiful.”

Adalheidur Atladottir. Photo: Díana Júlíusdóttir

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