KCAP revealed its competition-winning design for the Keflavík Airport Area Strategic Masterplan in Iceland, comprising an area of 55 square kilometres around the country’s global aviation hub. Developed together with Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Kanon Arkitektar and a multidisciplinary team of professionals across a wide range of fields, the masterplan proposes a “collaborative development between public and private sectors”, seeking to transform specific areas around the airport into the hallmarks of the country’s sustainability and economic strategies.
KCAP’s masterplan aims to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between the airport and the local communities while capitalizing on the abundant supply of renewable energy and the proximity to Reykjanes UNESCO Geopark. The new urban framework is a polycentric urban archipelago defined by specific sites that catalyze development across different economic sectors and carefully phased timelines. The area is expected to branch out into new sectors such as hydrogen production, electric aviation, hi-tech agriculture and marine aquaculture, attracting high-value companies. These economic opportunities will benefit not only the local workforce but will attract talent and improve educational opportunities in the area.
A project of such significance requires a bold and, at the same time, sensitive approach. A step-by-step roadmap will provide investors with a trajectory that responds to the possibilities, the market, the culture of development, and the stakeholder landscape over time. This gradual approach should also apply to stakeholder relations, which need to be developed with great care so as to create a resilient and ambitious organization - Anouk Kuitenbrouwer, partner in charge at KCAP
The Landscape design is the “identity carrier” for the airport area, adhering to the country climate action plan, which focuses on reforestation. As such, the new Airport Corridor links the masterplan area with a national network of reforestation projects. At the same time, a new mobility strategy has been envisioned, comprising the Keflavík-Reykjavík Link (BRT) and new links between the airport areas’ urban nodes.
Design Team
- KCAP, Zurich (urban planning and urban design)
- WSP, London (economic and real estate development, collaborative development and organisational readiness)
- Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Rotterdam (landscape architect)
- MIC Mobility in Chain, Milan (mobility and transport planning)
- VSO Consulting, Reykjavík (local coordination, urban planning)
- Buck Consultants International, Nijmegen/The Hague (cargo planning)
- Buro Happold, Berlin (climate and aviation mitigation, environmental performance and energy supply strategy)
- Base Design, Brussels (placemaking and wayfinding)
- Maurits Schaafsma, Amsterdam (airport area master planning)
- Amberg Loglay, Zurich (emerging aviation technologies)
- Kanon Arkitektar, Reykjavík (local architect and landscape architect)
