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December 4, 2007
Alcoa Foundation Grant for Renovation of Historical House in Reydarfjordur, Iceland
Today, Alcoa Fjardaál presented the National Museum of Iceland with an Alcoa Foundation grant for the renovation and reconstruction of the Sómastadir house. The grant amounts to USD 250,000 over a three year period. Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, director of the Icelandic National Museum, received the grant from Tómas Már Sigurdsson, director of Alcoa Fjardaál. The guest list at the ceremony included Ásta Beck, daughter of the builder, Hans Jakob Beck. She was born and brought up in Sómastadir.
Sómastadir in Reydarfjordur, built by farmer Hans Jakob Beck in 1875, is one of the most unique houses in Iceland, as it is the only stone building of its kind which has been preserved in Iceland. Sómastadir came under the custody of the National Museum of Iceland in 1988.
“Sómastadir is the closest neighbour to the Alcoa Fjardaál smelter and we were interested from the start to participate in the preservation of this remarkable building. When the Fjardaál project was at its peak, we tried to fortify the structure so it would not be damaged, and now that the smelter construction is almost finished, we are proud to be able to collaborate with the National Museum of Iceland to rebuild this beutiful stone house,” said Tómas Már Sigurðsson, director of Alcoa Fjardaál on this occasion.
Alcoa Foundation is a separately constituted not-for–profit U.S. corporate foundation with assets of approximately US$534 million. The foundation has been in operation for more than half a century. Throughout its 55 year history, Alcoa Foundation has been a source of positive community change and enhancement. In 2006, Alcoa Foundation awarded over US$26 million in grants around the world in 215 communities.
“The Sómastadir house is an important asset for the National Museum’s House Collection, and one of the few stonebrick buildings left in Iceland,” said Margrét Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir, director of the Icelandic National Museum. “The National Museum’s House Collection came about when the museum had started taking custody of old houses, one by one, when it was the only solution to save them from destruction or demolition. Gradually, a whole collection had been established, now counting more than forty houses. The collection provides a valuable insight into the nation’s housing options in the past centuries and the development of building techniques in Iceland. The House Collection forms the core of the National Museum’s nationwide heritage treasures. The collection collaborates with the State Housing Preservation Committee to maintain and renovate the houses, and research the constructional heritage. The grant we receive today is important for our work and will prove very helpful in the renovation of Sómastadir.”
As stated above, farmer Hans Jakob Beck built the stone house of Sómastadir in 1875, with local rocks, binding them with glacial clay. The base of the house is only 37 sqm, with a cellar underneath. Hans Jakob was married twice, with 23 children, so you can say that the space was well utilised.
The renovation of Sómastadir started in 1991, but the work was stopped for a while. The grant from the Alcoa Foundation will be used for a timely work on the house to bring it closer to its original appearance.
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