Iceland University of the Arts

Architecture courses on a higher level of education are relatively new to Iceland. Teaching began in the fall of 2002 with the establishment of a three-year BA degree programme in architecture at the Iceland University of the Arts (Listaháskóli Íslands, IUA, www.lhi.is) located in Reykjavík. The programme is non-professional and provides access to Master’s and PhD studies. The first students with a BA degree in architecture graduated in 2005. Since then, 268 students have completed the BA programme at IUA.

For the first nineteen years of architectural teaching at IUA, no second cycle architectural programmes were offered in Iceland. Thus, to receive a professional degree, IUA students of architecture had to complete their studies in another country, as had been the case for all Icelandic architects in the 20th century. In the fall of 2021, a new two-year accredited professional Master’s in architecture (MArch) was established at the IUA. In the spring of 2023, the first students graduated with a professional degree in architecture from an Icelandic educational institution. In 2025, 26 students completed their MArch degree in architecture from IUA.

The IUA’s architecture programme aims to address Iceland’s unique built environment, influenced by its natural surroundings, geography, small population and cultural heritage. Emphasis is placed on ‘seeing architecture in relation to the unique context in which we live and looking at how—with artistic intuition, imaginative ideas, technical knowledge and critical and creative thinking—we can develop architecture that deals with man’s relationship with his environment. At the same time, we relate these issues to a larger international theoretical and practical discourse in architecture.’[1] The newly established MArch programme at IUA is devoted to the ‘exploration of the meaning and scope of architecture and the multiple social roles of architects.’

The Iceland University of the Arts was founded in 1998. Courses started in 1999. It is a self-governing institution providing higher education in fine arts, theatre, dance, music, film, design, architecture and art education. IUA’s aim is to offer university level education in the arts, and it provides the arts in Icelandic society with a foundation grounded in both knowledge and professionalism. It operates in a global environment and strives to keep up with art academies in the neighbouring countries.

[1] Jóhannes Þórðarson. Notes on the architecture & design department at IAA (unpublished)

is author of articles, lectures, exhibition texts, books and media programmes on the history of architecture in Iceland. In 2021, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon for his research into the architectural history of Iceland and the dissemination of knowledge in this field. In 2021, he was elected an honorary member of the Icelandic Association of Architects. Pétur H. Ármannsson studied architecture at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, graduating in 1986 with a B. Arch. Hons. This was followed by postgraduate studies in architecture and architectural theory at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, graduating with an M. Arch. in 1991. From 1993 to 2005, he was head of the architecture department at the Reykjavík Art Museum. Since 2002, he has been a part-time lecturer in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Icelandic Academy of Arts, and since 2013, he has been head of the architectural heritage department at the Icelandic Heritage Agency.