Perlan

Perlan ( The Pearl Isl ) is a hot water tank in Iceland's capital Reykjavik. It was designed by Ingimundur Sveinsson and opened in 1991. From here, the city is supplied with hot water, heated in winter, the sidewalks and streets.

Perlan is situated on the hill Öskjuhlíð south of the city center at the Reykjavik airport. There were already several decades hot water tank in place. According to plans, the ( originally developed by John Kjarval ) to reach back to the year 1930, the six aluminum tanks were covered with a glass dome. Lamps create the illusion of a starry sky, mirror reflecting the sky and as often as the polar lights in the interior of the building. The building also an artificial geyser was built that erupts every few minutes.

One of the tanks were drained and houses a Saga Museum. On the roof of the tank there is a viewing platform that allows a view over Reykjavík and far into the country. On the top floor there is a revolving restaurant, so you can enjoy the view while eating well.

The construction of the building is politically due to the then mayor of Reykjavík, Davíð Oddsson, who later became Prime Minister of Iceland.

Technology

The hot water tank - five of the six are still in operation - each hold up to four million liters of hot water at a temperature of about 85 ° C. Due to its elevated position on the hill Öskjuhlíð (61 m) can supply all building Perlan in Reykjavik without additional pumps with water.

The hot water for Reykjavik is currently taken from about 70 wells under the city, which usually range between 500 m and 2000 m in depth. Thus, a large part of the heat energy can be recovered directly from geothermal energy.

The building is 25.7 m high. The glass dome on the roof is made of window elements 1176, 942 bulbs create the illusion of a starry sky. From the outside, the building is lit with 58 lights.