Inspired by the local area’s rich cultural and indigenous histories, the Qaammat Fjeld Pavilion built by Konstantin Ikonomidis is a public installation made from transparent glass bricks located between two fjords in Sarfannguit, Greenland.
Located in an open landscape on a UNESCO heritage site, the transparent installation is camouflaged in its mesmerizing surroundings. The building’s edifice comprises glass blocks arranged in a way that forms two narrow openings, which invites the visitor to experience its intimate atmosphere and opens up to the wider landscape.
There is an immense sense of power in this natural landscape, yet it also reminds us of nature’s vulnerability. The concept of using glass as a building material ‘anchored’ in the rock translates this sensibility.
Glass was chosen for its palpability, its ability to highlight transparency; it camouflages the building and delineates the landscape – the pavilion inserts its presence but remains almost invisible. The interior architectural space develops an intricate relationship with the outside, and provides an interesting and enjoyable space. While sitting inside, the viewer experiences the opaque material in combination with the sun, with the snow. The pavilion is imagined as a canvas, which will come alive through reflecting the colour palette of its surroundings – sun, snow, the different seasons, reflections of the building’s visitors.
