Reykjavik Iceland
1 – 6 September 2019
The Icelandic Geotechnical Society are pleased to welcome you to the XVII European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Reykjavik, Iceland 1st – 6th of September 2019.
The theme of the Conference is “Geotechnical Engineering, foundation of the future.”
The theme of the conference embraces all aspects of geotechnical engineering. Geotechnical engineering is the foundation of current as well as future societies, which both rely on complex civil engineering infrastructures, and call for mitigation of potential geodangers posing threat to these. Geotechnical means and solutions are required to ensure infrastructure safety and sustainable development. Those means are rooted in past experiences enhanced by research and technology of today.
At great events such as the European Geotechnical Conference we should: Spread our knowledge and experience to our colleagues; Introduce innovations, research and development of techniques and equipment; Report on successful geotechnical constructions and application of geotechnical design methods, as well as, on mitigation and assessment of geohazards and more.
Such events also provide an opportunity to draw the attention of others outside the field of geotechnical engineering to the importance of what we are doing, particularly to those who, directly or indirectly, rely on our services, knowledge and experience. Investment in quality geotechnical work is required for successful and safe design, construction and operation of any infrastructure. Geotechnical engineering is the key to a safe and sustainable infrastructure and of importance for the society, economy and the environment. This must be emphasized and reported upon.
The Icelandic Geotechnical Society, IGS, is enthusiastic about organizing this great event. IGS hosted the Nordic Geotechnical Conference, NGM-2016 in Reyk javik. However, Iceland has never hosted the European Geotechnical Conference and it is with great pleasure that we welcome you in 2019.
Iceland now enjoys increased popularity for conferences. Many major conferences have been held in the conference centre Harpa and both visitors and organizers have been very pleased with the facilities as can be seen here.
We offer our guests a venue unlike all others surrounded by inspiring nature. Iceland is one of the most geologically active locations in the world with volcanoes, lava fields, hot spots, earthquake activities, geothermal areas and glacial outburst. This has created both challenging geotechnical environment and magnificent scenery that you cannot find anywhere else in the world.
Harpa is a new concert hall and conference centre in the heart of Reykjavík, Iceland. This unique architectural gem is situated on the picturesque Reykjavík harbour in the city centre and features stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Harpa offers excellent facilities for presentations, meetings and exhibition. The main hall has seatings for 1600 people and then five other halls with seatings from 130 to 840 people and several meeting rooms which could be available for committees meetings.
Harpa combines stunning architecture with state of the art technology in all areas of functions within the building. The main halls and meeting rooms offer some of the most technologically advanced equipment available. Harpa also features spacious reception and exhibition areas that can be used for a variety of happenings. Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre is an eco-friendly building. It was designed to use mostly natural light through the glass facade which covers three of the four sides resulting in significant reduction in power consumption. All those who were chosen to operate within Harpa have sustainability as one of their main goals. Both restaurants and catering services use mainly local produce and follow strict recycling standards.