The hot water main conduit

The draft proposals for the Háaleiti-Bústaðir neighborhood plan propose to restore the old hot water main conduit as the backbone of Bústaðahverfi and a landmark that strengthens both the neighborhood spirit and improves neighborhood awareness.

Facilities for all ages

Teikning af áningar og dvalarsvæði við hitaveitustokkinn. — Rest and leisure area 1 by the hot water main conduit.

Ljósmynd af því hvar áningarstaðirnir við stokkinn gætu verið. — Stopping points near the conduit.

The neighborhood plan looks towards connecting the hot water main conduit with various large and small rest and leisure areas, with interesting facilities for both the young and the elderly. These could include play areas, seasonal garden spaces, exercise trails, and more. There are even ideas for hot sitting pools or foot-baths directly linked to the hot water main conduit and the hot springs beneath it!

Neighborhood landmarks

The draft proposals for the Háaleiti-Bústaðir urban district plan, present the idea is that the hot water main conduit, which stretched from Reykir in Mosfellssveit to the tanks in Öskjuhlíð, become part of the pedestrian and bicycle path system of the city district.

The conduit was the longest hot water main line in the world when built, 15 km long, and snow did not accumulate on it due to the heat. It was, therefore, an important pedestrian route between both neighborhoods and local municipalities, being the first structure to bridge several rivers on its way from Mosfellssveit to the city.

This idea can be said to align with the municipal plan's strategy to strengthen sustainable transportation methods within individual neighborhood. It also responds to residents' suggestions from a previous consultation process, about the lack of landmarks within the neighborhoods that connect the neighborhood to history and are specifically marked as historical sites and/or city monuments.

The proposal supports sustainable transportation within the district and also responds to residents' suggestions in the urban district plan's consultation process about the missing landmarks within the districts.

A unique pedestrian route and experience

The conduit was considered a unique pedestrian route, a genuine experience, and, if these ideas succeed, it would now also become the ideal main connection of schools with the neighborhoods, a good and comfortable pedestrian route for both young and old to move between places, "the love path" after school dances, and a playground for children of all ages.

The hot water main conduit has seen better days. It has been spoiled over a long stretch, or it has been buried underground and it is mostly intact where it runs through Bústaðahverfi down to Elliðaárdalur and in Ártúnsbrekka into Árbær.

Today, school grounds, preschool grounds, elderly dwellings, and general residential areas run alongside and up to the hot water main conduit.

Cultural and historical context

The consultant's estimation for the urban district plan is that if the hot water main conduit were to be renewed in this way, it would strengthen both the neighborhood spirit and improve neighborhood awareness in Bústaðahverfi. The hot water main conduit would once again become a part of the residents' daily life, both as a landmark and a pedestrian path that offers an enjoyable experience.