Reykjavík approves demolition of dangerous petrol station canopy

Reykjavík’s planning official has approved an application to demolish the canopy at a former petrol station on Ægisíða because parts of the structure could collapse or become detached, mbl.is reports.

The approval also allows five fuel tanks to be excavated and sent for recycling, while the associated pipes will be removed. The tanks must be emptied, degassed, cleaned and treated according to current regulations before being transported away.

N1, formerly Esso, operated the petrol station at Ægisíða 102 for many years. Built in 1978, it closed in May 2025. A tyre workshop in the building closed in June this year.

The station was popular and heavily used, particularly by residents of Reykjavík’s Vesturbær district.

A planning description for the plot was prepared early in 2026, but it has not yet been published because of uncertainty surrounding the future of petrol station sites in the city.

An architectural and planning competition was held for the property. Trípólí architects won, and their proposal will form the basis for future planning and detailed zoning work.

The plans focus on mixed development, including shops, services and housing. Forty homes are planned for the plot, in a project led by property development company Yrkir.

The existing building, designed by architects Guðmundur Kr. Kristinsson and Ferdinand Alfreðsson, will remain and is expected to continue housing shops and services. New buildings are intended to reflect high-quality architecture and strengthen the character of the location.

A draft report by Reykjavík’s Museum of Photography and Urban History, prepared in September 2022, identified the Ægisíða station as one of four petrol stations in the city considered to have heritage value.

The report described the station’s architecture as high quality and part of a functionalist style characterised by natural forms. It said the building’s individual parts were arranged “like a fan extending from a cylinder at the centre”.

There had been interest in preserving the building, including its prominent canopy. However, Trípólí’s winning proposal calls for the building and plot to be reconstructed from the ground up, with a smaller canopy than the existing one.

The planning official authorised the canopy’s demolition on condition that part of it is rebuilt. The application said the canopy had deteriorated badly, creating a risk that sections could come loose or fail and cause a collapse or debris hazard.