STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Iceland has long been a prime location for viewing the Northern Lights. To better facilitate this a project was proposed to create an enclosed viewing pavilion for visitors. To ensure the view remains unobstructed it was required to make the building completely out of glass. This project required a lot of design, analysis, and detailing because of the nature of glass as a material. It is extremely strong but very brittle.
The team’s resulting design, Stairway to Heaven, is a structure the cantilevers over the water with a stairway up to a raised viewing platform. This gives the feeling of climbing up to the sky while also being able
to look down at the reflection of the lights in the water. It uses a series of structural glass ribs and beams for support with carefully detailed connections.
