Studio Bua‘s Studio Bua Reykjavík housing scheme has secured outline planning consent, with the Reykjavík Environmental and Planning Council approving a 7,820m² low-rise, high-density proposal for the Upper Breiðholt district of the Icelandic capital. The practice’s deiliskipulag, or outline planning approval, covers 40 homes on a site that previously included a football pitch and is surrounded by late-20th-century housing blocks.
The scheme represents a deliberate departure from the city council’s original brief, which called for conventional apartments. Studio Bua instead proposed a series of terraced homes and maisonettes, arguing that the arrangement maximised use of the plot while delivering something more in keeping with Reykjavík’s older residential fabric.
Low-rise density with a public landscape at its core
‘Our proposal aimed to bring the flavour of the old town to this neighbourhood using a low-rise, high-density approach to deliver affordable homes with high-quality public spaces,’ Studio Bua said. ‘All homes have their own front door. A large proportion of the site forms a new public landscape with green spaces, playgrounds and visible and integrated blue-green infrastructure.’
That integration of blue-green infrastructure is more than an aesthetic choice in a Nordic climate context. Permeable landscaping, visible drainage channels and planted corridors all contribute to surface water management and urban cooling, reducing the operational burden on hard infrastructure. The practice’s emphasis on quality public realm alongside affordable tenure is also consistent with broader guidance from bodies such as LETI on the relationship between placemaking and long-term community resilience.
The City of Reykjavík has confirmed that upper-floor dwellings will include homes of varying sizes, with spacious family homes up to 130 square metres. That range of unit sizes, from smaller starter homes to larger family dwellings, is central to the scheme’s approach to housing mix and long-term adaptability.
Studio Bua Reykjavík housing scheme: built-in adaptability without planning red tape
One of the more unusual aspects of the Studio Bua Reykjavík housing scheme is its approach to future growth. Rather than treating each home as a fixed product, the practice pre-planned how occupants can extend their properties over time, without needing to apply for further planning permission or seek landlord consent.
‘A key aspect of the scheme was that we pre-planned how the houses can be extended by inhabitants,’ Studio Bua said. ‘The starter homes can expand and adapt to suit a larger or multigenerational family. This means that individual families wouldn’t need to seek planning permission or landlord consent to expand their homes; they would simply follow the approved guidelines.’
From a sustainability standpoint, this kind of designed-in adaptability addresses embodied carbon in a way that is rarely discussed at the planning stage. Homes that can grow with their occupants without demolition or major structural intervention avoid the carbon cost of moving, building anew, or retrofitting unsuitable stock. It is an approach that aligns with RIBA Sustainable Outcomes guidance on longevity and adaptability as core performance criteria.
The client is Reykjavík City, and landscape architecture is being handled by Giambattista Zaccariotto. Studio Bua itself is based in London.
A practice with roots in Iceland
Studio Bua co-founder Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir is Icelandic, and the practice name translates as ‘inhabit’ in Icelandic. The firm has a track record of working in Iceland beyond this housing commission. In 2021, it completed the conversion of a hay barn to the west of the country into an artist’s studio. According to the Architects’ Journal, that project was delivered for £195,000, a figure that speaks to the practice’s ability to work at modest budgets with careful material and spatial thinking.
The Upper Breiðholt scheme operates at a very different scale, but the same underlying logic applies: density and affordability achieved through intelligent layout rather than typological compromise. With outline consent now granted, the approved guidelines governing how residents may extend their homes over time will become one of the more closely watched aspects of the project as it moves towards detailed design and delivery.
