Danish studio Henning Larsen Architects has completed a bridge-like town hall, connecting the Faroese landscapes on Faroese Islands. The town hall's irregular form is smoothly embedded into the local landscape and features a green terrace on top of it in order not to be visible within the topography.

Called Eysturkommuna Town Hall, the 750-square-metre town hall includes office space for the municipality's staff and a green roof, which is fully accessible to the public and people so that they can come here to have picnics and swim in the river.

Designed as a breathtaking experience to be "the world’s most scenic town hall", the town hall is completely merged with nature: "the green-roofed town hall of the small Eysturkommuna is not just a building but serves as a bridge for the citizens to cross the river," said the firm. 

"The building pays tribute to the Nordics and the traditional Faroese way of building. Yet, it defines a new path for contemporary Faroese architecture.

"Before the fishing industry made its entry with a large and important factory, the attractive local beach was the natural gathering point for special occasions," added  Henning Larsen Architects.

The Eysturkommuna town hall is the first of more buildings to revive local public life in the center of Norðragøta. The building aims to create a unique space that will revive the local community. 

"Having difficulties distinguishing where the landscape ends and the building begins is a central theme in traditional Faroese architecture," said Ósbjørn Jacobsen, Partner and Lead Design Architect at Henning Larsen. 

"The town hall design was driven by the notion of this blurred line, and as such a take on modern architecture in the Faroe Islands," Jacobsen added. 

Artist Jens Ladekarl Thomsen designed an exterior sound and light installation of the building, drawing from sounds and structures of the local society and nature, lett passers-by believe that "the house speaks" of its surroundings. Eysturkommuna covers five different settlements of total 2000 inhabitants.

Plan of the Town Hall

Transverse section

Longitudinal section

All images © Nic Lehoux

> via Henning Larsen Architects