36 flats at Hringhamar certified: More certified at once than ever before

30% project in Swan Certification in Hafnarfjörður

The new development at 9-19 Ringhamar in the Hamranes area of Hafnarfjörður is the largest residential project to receive Swan Certification in Iceland. 36 flats were certified yesterday morning, and never have more flats received the certification at one time. MótX is the developer.

Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate, was present at the handover. „It's a good investment when the local authorities in Hafnarfjörður decide to grant a fee discount,“ he said, among other things, as he congratulated the parties involved on their success. He said the local authorities had shown foresight. „What is the result? Well, the vast majority of the projects in the process of obtaining the Swan Mark are here in Hafnarfjörður. That's good for the nation, good for the municipality, and will be by far the best for the people living in these houses,“ said the minister.

Mayor Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir is delighted to see more buildings among the group of Swan-certified properties here in Hafnarfjörður. „The municipality has done its part to encourage environmentally friendly construction by reimbursing a portion of the plot price. This milestone is the result of that decision. I congratulate MótX,“ she says.

There are a total of 30% of construction projects in the process of obtaining Swan Certification in Hafnarfjörður, and a total of 45% of residential properties in the certification process, according to information from the Environmental Agency.

Want to build an eco-friendly home

Gunnlaugur Ragnarsson, Finance Director of MótX, says that at the start of the project, the company's management decided that the building would be constructed to meet the requirements for the Swan Certification.

„It was an easy decision for MótX to go down this route; the company was already on the path of building its buildings in an environmentally friendly way,“ he says.

„The project that is now receiving the Swan label is the first of three phases in the company's construction project in Hamranes, which is in the process of obtaining Swan certification. This phase includes 36 certified flats, making it the largest project to date to receive Swan Certification in the country in terms of the number of residential units. A total of 164 flats will be certified when all phases are complete.“

Taking big green steps

Gunnlaugur says that the company took a big step towards green building methods in 2019, and that all the flats MótX has built since then have been constructed with that as a guiding principle. „For example, there are new approaches to ventilation, where each flat has its own ventilation system. It ensures frequent air changes and fresh, dust-free air, whilst also reducing heating costs and combating moisture build-up. MótX has also utilised blue-green environmental solutions in the landscaping of plots and the surrounding area,“ he says.

The Swan is the official Nordic Ecolabel. It was established by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1989. The main aim of the Swan is to reduce the environmental impact of products or services and to make it easier for consumers to choose more environmentally friendly options. In Iceland, the Environmental Agency is the administrator of the Swan certification.