A new nursery school is being built in Hamranes.

The nursery opens at the beginning of the new year.

Work on the new nursery school, Áshamar in Hamranes, is progressing well, and everything is on track for the interim handover in December and the final completion in February. The building units for the nursery were recently delivered to the country. 13 of the 42 units have arrived on site, and the installation is scheduled to be completed by Monday at the latest.  The units arrive fully fitted with walls, flooring and a roof and are assembled in accordance with the drawings. The nursery is scheduled to open in February 2025, by which time the building, part of the grounds and the car park are to be ready.

„We decided to take a new approach to the nursery's development, both to be cost-effective and to respond more quickly to the demand for more nursery places in the neighbourhood. Nurseries in neighbouring areas have managed to meet demand, but the opening of the first of two nurseries in the town's newest district, Hamranes, is now in sight.“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor. „It is looking very likely that we will be able to welcome the youngest residents of Hamraness to the neighbourhood nursery school shortly after the New Year.

Cost-effective and innovative solutions

The nursery is constructed from Modules timber units, which are assembled in a factory under optimal conditions. The nursery will be single-storey and L-shaped, centred around a central area that will house the facilities and the nursery grounds, as well as provide shelter. In December 2023, the City of Hafnarfjörður invited tenders for the design and construction of a six-classroom nursery school at Áshamar 9 in the Hamranes district of Hafnarfjörður, totalling approximately 1,200 m². This was a public tender, and bidders were asked to submit competitive proposals for the accommodation of a new nursery school. Seven bids were received, and it was decided to accept the bid from Þarfaþing hf. The concept from Þarfaþing was considered exceptionally stylish, with bright, colourful and attractive play areas, clear access routes and a good connection between all areas. Þarfaþing builds and completes the premises, excluding the grounds and car park. Grafa og grjót carried out the earthworks for the car park and building, and the site development for the nursery. The company Landslag handled the design of the site and car park. The completion date remains February 2025, with phased handover on 19 December 2024.

Kristján Kristjánsson, engineer at VSB Engineering; Goði Ingvar Sveinsson, project manager at JT Verk; Sigurður Haraldsson, Head of Department at Hafnarfjörður Municipality; Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor; and Ævar Sveinsson, Senior Project Manager at Þarfaþing.

Hamranes is filling up and its infrastructure is being strengthened.

Hamranes is a 25-hectare new-build area south of the Skarðshlíðarhverfi and Vallahverfi neighbourhoods in Hafnarfjörður. Work on the plots in Hamranes began in early 2021. The neighbourhood will eventually comprise around 1,900 homes, with an estimated population of 4,750. The development includes a two-form-entry primary school with a four-unit nursery, the Hamranes School. The City of Hafnarfjörður has put this project out to tender. In addition to the six-department nursery that is under construction, a care home will also be built there. Combined, the population of the Hamranes and Skarðshlíðar neighbourhoods is estimated to be just over 6,000 in around 2,500 homes. The Vallahverfi district, which borders these areas, currently has a population of just over 5,700. The total population of this area south of the Reykjanesbraut in the far south of Hafnarfjörður is therefore expected to double.