VEITINGAHÚS

Fast food restaurants like Kentucky Fried Chicken are usually known for their standardized look. The architecture of these restaurants never seems to take much consideration of their specific location and surroundings. In the Keflavik branch of this fast food chain, the intention was to make a design that would break with these conventions and be truly site specific.

Located by sea and set a few streets back from a busy fishing harbour, on the edge of an industrial area, the site looks out on an area dominated by a mix of low level single-story housing and large warehouses, with shipping containers on one side and to the sea and countryside on the other. The building volume is a play with black boxes, consciously mimicking the scale of the adjacent shipping containers and tow-level housing, and carefully extending dramatically vertically to allow light into the building To break from the norm, the building utilises double height volumes with huge glazed exterior panels, to allow views from the restaurant out into the wild countryside beyond.

Here the building tries to bring as much of the abundant summer sun deep into the building, creating dramatic shadows and enhancing the experience of the seasonal change in natural Eight and its link to the outdoors. 

The exterior is clad with semi-matte black tiles, sparingly cut out for vertical ribbons of windows, which underline the cool and sophisticated appearance. The west end of the building is surprisingly sheer glass, which mirrors the big space and opens the building to the street and sea view. The inside is kept raw with fair-faced, in-situ cast concrete, which invites an interesting play between light, shade and surface texture. The bespoke fine detailing and light fixtures intentionally contradict the standardized menu billboards and the brightly coloured synthetic brand furniture.