New nursing home will add 99 places in Hafnarfjörður

Construction of a new nursing home with 99 places has begun in Hafnarfjörður, mbl.is reports. Housing modules for the facility at Hamranes 43 have started arriving in Iceland after three years of preparations.

The building will cover about 6,900 square metres across five floors. It consists of 111 prefabricated modules arriving in two shiploads. The facility is the first nursing home in Iceland to be built using this method.

Construction company Íslenskar fasteignir expects the first half of the building to be assembled within two to three weeks. Installation of the second half is expected to be completed in November, with the project scheduled for final completion in February 2027.

Demand exceeds supply

Sóltún, which operates other nursing homes, advised on the project. Its chief executive, Halla Thoroddsen, told Morgunblaðið that demand for nursing home places was far greater than supply, with 300 people on Sóltún’s waiting list.

Thoroddsen described the rooms as warm and classic, with careful workmanship and a design that had generally succeeded well. She said the new facility would provide a comfortable environment for staff and welcomed the possibility of creating nursing home places quickly and cost-effectively.

The building at Hamranes was specifically designed as a nursing home. Each prefabricated housing module contains two rooms with bathrooms, separated by a corridor. Every room will include a completed bathroom, kitchen fittings and a wardrobe, among other features.

After the modules are assembled, the two halves of the nursing home will be joined and a central section and shared spaces will be added. The building’s other components are also prefabricated. An American company is handling production in Poland.

Íslenskar fasteignir chief executive Sveinn Björnsson said the building meets Icelandic building regulations and requirements for local conditions. It also meets the minimum requirements set by the Icelandic government construction authority for nursing home places, he said.

Björnsson said the project’s advantage was that every detail had to be planned before the modules were ordered. He hopes more nursing homes can be built in the same way, with a shorter preparation period now that the method has been tested.

Orri Björnsson, leader of the Independence Party in Hafnarfjörður municipality, said the town had long included the project in its plans and welcomed the arrival of the new nursing home. He said demand for the service had grown significantly in recent years and that the municipality was working on three, nearly four, projects to increase the supply of nursing home places.