JAFNAEGI WELLNESS CENTER
The Jafnvaegi Wellness Center is focused on balancing the mind through yoga practices and mediation with an emphasis on addressing depression and anxiety of the local community. This center offers an exclusive retreat to international guest during the summer, where they are encouraged to take advantage of the natural beauty of Iceland in combination with focusing on healing one’s mind.
Here they will eat, live, and sleep for periods of 1-2 weeks. During the winter, our center will be open exclusively to the local Hofn community to enjoy and to help aid the mental health crisis in Iceland during the dark winter months. Here we will offer free yoga classes and access to all the facilities to encourage the Hofn to take advantage of this mental escape right in their backyard.
SITE
Our site is in Hofn Iceland which is a cold climate in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord and offers scenic views of Vatnajökull glaciers. A relatively small fishing town with active tourism during the summer.
Yoga Studios
Since our programs main focus is centered around the yoga studios it was important that we understood what design elements are essential to create an ideal experience
Natural lighting is highly encouraged but with our site being dark for many hours during the winter, artificial light must be used in a convincing way to dilute the light. In our research we discovered the importance of the triangle in yoga teachings since it is a core position in yoga practices.
Climate
Hofn sees 21 hours of sunshine in July while in January has less than 4 hours of sunshine per day. Hofn is a cool climate with a range from 30 degrees to 70 degrees throughout the year. Generally speaking Hofn is a comfortable environment in terms of humidity.
With humidity rates higher at night and lower during the day, this allows for the use of natural ventilation during spring and summer months. The wind speed in Hofn is irregular due to the microclimate but the wind direction is relatively constant, coming mainly from Northern and Southern directions.
Plans & Sections
It was important that our studios have expansive views of the scenery as well as outdoor decks that function specifically for sunrise or sunset yoga classes, although the time of the sunset/rise vary greatly throughout the year it is important to connect with the sun in sedative practices when possible. To address the wind, we have angled the building to protect the outdoor pools from the most direct wind which will help to keep the people in the outdoor pool protected during their dip.
Site & Plan Orientation
Inspired by the balance of geometric and organic shapes found in the natural structures of Iceland’s glaciers we decided to translate this idea of balance into our structure. Composed on three geometric shapes which are our programs, connected by an organic structure which housing the dwelling component of our center. The way in which the structure is oriented on the site is very specific to the sunrise/sunset and the views of the mountains and oceans.
Diagrams
The wind also played a factor in how we shaped the top floor. Each separate dwelling on the floor is specifically placed to block the strongest wind thus allowing the deck to be as protected from the wind as possible.
The lack of sunlight during the winter months in Hofn allows for minimal day light hours so in order to take advantage of the sun in these winter months the top decks are angled so they will receive the most amount of sunlight.
