VSO https://www.vso.is/en/ vso.is Fri, 27 Oct 2017 17:56:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.vso.is/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-VSO-icon-gr-533x533-1-32x32.png VSO https://www.vso.is/en/ 32 32 Thrihnukagigur Volcano https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-e/ https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-e/#respond Tue, 29 Mar 2016 09:06:37 +0000 http://vso.is/en/?p=3280 Thrihnukar is a line of craters situated in Southwest Iceland. In the northeast part the the crater Thrihnukagigur can be found and descending from its opening is a massive dome, which is in fact a still-standing, empty magma chamber that is counted among the most remarkable natural phenomena of its kind on Earth.

The Þríhnúkar association was founded in 2004 with the goal of working on a preliminary study on whether it would be realistic to make the crater publicly available for the entry of tourists – while ensuring at the same time that the crater and the surrounding environment is preserved.

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Thrihnukagigur Volcano

Situated west of the ski resort in Bláfjöll is a line of craters named Thrihnukar. In the northeast part of it the crater Thrihnugagigur can be found and descending from its opening is a massive dome, which is in fact a still-standing, empty magma chamber which is counted among the most remarkable natural phenomena of its kind on Earth.

The Þríhnúkar association was founded in 2004 by Árni B. Stefánsson, Björn Ólafsson and Einar K. Stefánsson with the goal of working on a preliminary study on whether it would be realistic to make the crater publicly available for the entry of tourists – while ensuring at the same time that the crater and the surrounding environment be preserved. Þríhnúkar’s mission is to preserve this great natural creation in the best manner possible and at the same time make it accessible to everyone to see and experience. The goal is to have people better perceive their own minuteness and transience in addition to obtaining a deeper feeling of nature’s greatness and creation itself.

The association hired VSO to supervise the preparation work i.e. the preliminary study of the project feasibility. The first phase of the assignment consisted of answering most of the questions that potential executives or investors might ask, for example concerning planning issues, permissions, expenses, security such as the risk of landslides and earthquakes, not to mention opinions regarding environmental issues and nature protection. A preliminary study report was published and presented to the public and interested parties in 2009. In 2011 Þríhnúkar ehf. decided to continue the preparation work which involved an environmental impact assessment (EIA), economic evaluation and preliminary design.

The most realistic suggestion that has yet surfaced regarding the accessibility to the crater consists of an access through a 350 m long tunnel that ends on a balcony in the middle of the crater dome. The balcony protrudes into the middle of the crater, 70 m deep and 50 meters from the crater floor. Above the balcony is a magma vent, or a chimney, but the balcony is never the less sheltered from possible downfall from above by a drooping rock. The view down to the bottom is admirable, two 20 story high buildings could fit below the balcony if they were a bit narrow at the top.

Although the viewing balcony and the tunnel have not yet been built, the agency 3H Travel has offered tours for the public into Thrihnukagigur Volcano over the summertime since 2012. More information about that can be found on the website www.insidethevolcano.com. Meanwhile, environmental, geological and economic research of continues.

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Leifur Eiriksson Airport Terminal https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-d/ https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-d/#respond Tue, 29 Mar 2016 09:04:16 +0000 http://vso.is/en/?p=3278 VSO has for many years assisted with the expansions, renovations and planning of the airport terminal in Keflavik.

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Leifur Eiriksson Airport Terminal

In the recent years, a great deal of construction work has taken place at Leifur Eríksson airport terminal in Keflavik, mostly due to a considerable increase of passengers passing through it. The constructions have consisted of expansions of the terminal, alterations of existing buildings, planning work and more. VSO has assisted the airport in the preparation and implementation of these projects, particularly when it comes to Project Management and Project Planning.

North Wing

The airport terminal went through a substantial transformation and expansion during the years 2003-2008. Among other responsibilities, VSO handled the Project & Design Management of this project, together with Project Supervision & Control of the construction work, and had employees on site throughout the whole time.

The planning and organization of this project was particularly complex because the airport remained open and fully operational during the process. It became necessary to divide the project into several stages, in which management, security, customs, staff and customers had to be considered.

The project includes renovations and modifications of a 22.000 m2 existing building and the erection of a 16.500 m2 side wing, all in all 38.500 m2.

South Wing

In 2012, renovations of the terminal’s South Wing began and, like before, the airport continued its full operation during the constructions. These renovations consisted of for example the installation of new elevators and escalators, new restrooms and technical area in the basement, overhaul of the duty-free/waiting area and the weapon screening on the 1st floor (2.400 m2) and renovations of the arrival and departure area, along with the service areas on the 2nd floor (1.300 m2). VSO role was the Project & Design Management of the project, together with Project Supervision & Control of the construction work.

The expansion of the South Wing began in the summer of 2014. The size of the annex building is 5.000 m2 on three floors, where for example six new terminals, weapon screening, a new shopping core and lavatories will be located. VSO’s role included the Project Planning of the project and assistance with Project Management.

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Land Use Planning https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-c/ https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-c/#respond Tue, 29 Mar 2016 09:03:03 +0000 http://vso.is/en/?p=3276 Land use planning can be a powerful tool to achieve changes fx. concerning tourist industry, nature preservation, transportation, education, employment areas and more.

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Land Use Planning

Land use planning can be a powerful tool to achieve changes with the mutual effort of several municipalities, for example concerning marketing of employment areas, advancement of the tourist industry, nature preservation, transportation and education. The key for all land use planning projects is mutual interest, otherwise it’s dysfunctional and hard to handle. The experience of VSO Consulting is that it’s important to look into a few fundamental questions before a decision is made to begin working on the land use plan.

Why?

What do we want to achieve? What changes do we want to see? Why do we want these changes come to life, i.e. what do we expect from the plan?

How?

How is land use planning helpful to achieve goals and encourage change? Is land use planning the right tool? Emphasis on analytic work, shaping of the rules and strategy for the area. Important to secure a wide-spread participation of interested parties.

Emphasis?

What are the mutual interests?  Are we in offense or defense? Emphasis on growth? Emphasis on the area uniqueness with regards to work or tourism? Emphasis on improved infrastructure like transportation or health issues?

Enforcing?

How to pursue the strategy and project plan? Wow about the ownership? Patience and progress analysis. Remember what the purpose of the work is. Enforcement is the hardest part of the job.

Profit?

Clear strategy and prioritizing of the actions that lead to changes. Municipalities are headed in the same direction, promotes increased collaboration and strengthens trust.

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Landspitali Hospital Treatment Facilities https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-b/ https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-b/#respond Tue, 29 Mar 2016 08:58:04 +0000 http://vso.is/en/?p=3272 Landspitalinn treatment center is one of the largest and most complex design projects that has been undertaken in Iceland.

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Landspitali hospital, treatment facilities

Landspitalinn treatment facilities is one of the largest and most complex design projects that has been undertaken in Iceland. The building that will contain what most would define as conventional hospital activity, will be on six floors, with additional two basement floors. The work activity that will be located in the treatment facilites is today separated into several different buildings situated in the Reykjavik capital area, however the new building will house an emergency center, surgery unit, coronary and general angioplasty unit, intensive care, radiology, infectious diseases unit, inpatient unit and most other significant units found in a traditional hospital.

The design team Corpus3 is responsible for the design of this ambitious project, but the team comprises the architect firms Hornsteinar and Basalt, alongside the engineering firms VSO Consulting and Lota. In addition, several foreign specialists from Holland, Denmark, Norway and England take part in the project design.

Flow and flexibility

The building will accommodate about two thousand employees with diverse jobs and it’s crucial to create a motivating work place for this sizable and diverse group of employees which works to take care of sick people and nurse them back to health. Additionally, the patients’ needs have to be paramount everywhere and the environment must be mending for them.

The nature of hospital work is both complex and varied and the functionality of the hospital is mostly decided in by how easy it is to move personnel, equipment, medicine, linens and so on between hospital units. The flow through the building has to be as practical as possible, so that too much time or steps are not spent in vain in the execution of the various assignments. Meanwhile, dissimilar work between floors and units that don’t complement each other has to be accounted for. The building will also be connected to other structures on the hospital lot, such as the research unit, outpatient unit and more, both above and below ground. It is therefore a considerable challenge to create a comprehensive machine that works perfectly, but it’s also an incredibly exciting and enjoyable project to handle.

It will be an immense change for the personnel and the patients to have almost all services under the same roof, it will involve big savings of funds, be time-saving for all parties and increase safety. The team members of Corpus3 possess a great deal of experience which they have come by both in Iceland and other countries, and additionally the team attempts to adopt the best parts of hospital design from abroad. A great deal of development is happening in comparable facilities in the countries surrounding us, where emphasis is put on limiting all kinds of waste, such as time, chemicals, space, energy, and simultaneously reducing distances indoors. In reality it is a special kind of discipline how each unit of the building is put under the microscope to study how the staff goes about so internal travels can be reduced. For example, it has been observed that coronary angioplasties can be increased by 1-2 per day just by considering the transfer of patients to the surgery room. In this way the wait can be moved closer to the surgery unit, the preparation time decreases and as a result the number of surgeries per day can be increased.

The emphasis of flow aside it needs to be kept in mind that hospital equipment evolves and changes rapidly. For this reason, it’s essential to design the building in such a way that it is flexible and able to change with time. In this way, a surgery room on one floor could be moved to another the next morning. The building is thereforen not defined by concrete walls and such, but rather the fact that the internal organization will unavoidably be altered throughout the years. This is a brand new idea and a great contrast to  old hospital buildings, which are more set in stone.

The involvement of security factors, such as for earthquakes, is also important and it holds the structure to a specific standard. The hospital needs to be functional immediately after a big earthquake, should it happen. For this reason, both the design and the location of the building in the city area need to be centered around that. The effects of an earthquake at Vifilstaðir, on the outskirts of the Reyjavik capital area, is for example much greater than at Hringbraut.

Many analyses have been made and various parts have been revised in cooperation with the hospital personnel and its patients. The design will be user controlled with the goal of across-the-board collaboration with the user body, making the design process considerably more focused. This collaboration is surely more time-consuming, but the resulting design will be more concise and hopefully results in a better building. Although the design team is never the less responsible for the outcome in the end.

The treatment facilites will rise south of  Hringurinn children’s hospital, where the old Hringbraut is located today. It’s estimated that constructions will commence in 2018 and that operations in the building can start in in 2023.

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Traffic Simulation https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-a/ https://www.vso.is/en/verkefni-a/#respond Tue, 29 Mar 2016 08:28:13 +0000 http://vso.is/en/?p=3269 VSO has in recent years been a part of a great many projects concerning traffic technology, including this particularly interesting research project on traffic simulation.

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Traffic Simulation

VSO has in recent years been a part of a great many projects concerning traffic technology, traffic planning, traffic forcasts and traffic safety, along with public transport and more. VSO has worked on numerous research projects with the Public Roads Administration as well. These include one recent and particularly interesting project on a traffic simulation which demonstrates how the use of traffic lights can improve the flow of traffic through roundabouts. It has not been customary in Iceland to use traffic lights in such a way and no such attempts have been made. However implementations of this idea have been made elsewhere, be it lights on individual branches of the roundabout as well as a roundabout fully operated by traffic lights, i.e. on all branches. This project is therefore meant to be the first input in this sort of discussion in Iceland.

The video above demonstrates the traffic simulation for Hlidartorg in Hafnafjordur

Hlidartorg in Hafnarfjordur

Project description

For this project, a real example was selected for inspection, Hliðartorg in Hafnarfjordur, which is located on the junction of Reykjanesbraut, Laekjargata and Hlidarberg, because often during rush-hours, that particular roundabout forms a gridlock. Throughout morning rush-hour, traffic heading south on Reykjanesbraut is minimal, leading to an almost free flow from Laekjargata into the roundabout, and the majority of those are heading left, north on Reykjanesbraut (the 3rd exit from Laekjargata). This leads to a near total blockage of traffic from the south of Reykjanesbraut which starts to form long lines reaching as far back as the south of the roundabout on Kaldarselsvegur. Likewise, cars coming from Hlidarberg have great difficulty entering the roundabout, consequently the drivers are tempted to elect a side road through the Hamraberg residence area to access Reykjanesbraut.

Project solution

The intention of the project was in a word, to install traffic lights with a brief fraction time at the Laekjargata branch of the roundabout. The goal is to make the traffic flow from Laekjargata more constricted to a set sequence of time and achieve equal flow through the roundabout in its entirety. A simulation of the roundabout and adjacent streets was set up and a census was performed to configure the simulation in order to get a realistic picture of the situation.

The result of the project indicates that using this implementation, the total flow of traffic through the roundabout can be improved greatly, the flow becomes balanced, delays are reduced and lines are shortened. It’s recognized that delays on the Laekjargata branch might increase, but delays on Reykjanesbraut south of the roundabout will be reduced greatly, and in that manner, traffic delays as a whole around the roundabout will be reduced. The project was presented at the Public Roads Administration’s research conference in 2015.

For more information, contact Grétar M. Hreggviðsson

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