The winning team of Torgið visits Copenhagen

An ambitious collaborative project between Reykjavík University and Reitir real estate was launched last year, aiming to connect studies with real-world projects and give students the opportunity to take on challenges in real estate and development.

A Strong Collaboration Between Academia and Industry

This led to Torgið, an innovative competition open to students from across the university. The winning team was awarded a trip to Copenhagen to visit, among others, Reitir’s key partners.

The first winning team of the first Torgið were Emilía Nótt Davíðsdóttir and Karitas Líf Ríkarðsdóttir, students in Biomedical Engineering at Reykjavík University. The trip gave them a unique opportunity to explore real estate development, urban planning, and architecture in an international context through site visits, field trips, and discussions with leading professionals.

Bicycling in the cold

Emilía Nótt and Karitas Líf stayed in Copenhagen with employees of Reitir and representatives from RU from January 10–14. It can safely be said that they experienced the city from a different perspective—this was far from a typical student trip. On the first day, they toured the city by bicycle in freezing cold weather. While the Danes found this somewhat unusual, it hardly fazed the Icelanders, and the bike tour was one of the trip's highlights for the students. The tour was organised by ScaleDenmark and placed urban planning, sustainable transportation, and human-centred design in the context of everyday city life.

On the second day, they visited Fisketorvet, Copenhagen’s largest shopping centre. Since the challenge the students addressed in Torgið focused on the future of Kringlan shopping mall, they found it particularly interesting to gain an international perspective on this type of operation.

The trip provided a unique opportunity to gain insight into real estate development, urban planning, and architecture in Copenhagen.

Community-Focused Development

Following this, the architecture firm C.F. Møller Architects offered insight into architectural practice. A site visit was made to the Sølund development project, where community, mixed-use development, and intergenerational connections are central themes. The marketing agency Dimension Design also provided insight into marketing strategies for real estate development.

We found it very interesting to see the presentation and the philosophy behind the mixed-use development. It is currently under construction, and we are excited to see how the area will develop once people move in over the coming years and how the community within the development will flourish in its own way.

Say Emilía Nótt and Karitas Líf.

The overall theme of the trip was the presentation of residential projects designed and built to foster community. The residential complexes Robertshaven and Bovieran Danmark A/S were also visited, both designed with this principle in mind. There, it was clearly demonstrated how design and shared spaces can support well-being and strong communities, particularly for senior citizens.

Presenting Their Solution to One of Denmark’s Largest Architecture Firms

Emilía Nótt and Karitas Líf were given the excellent opportunity to present their Torgið solution to Henning Larsen Architects, one of Denmark’s largest architecture firms. Notably, Henning Larsen was involved in the design of Reykjavík University and Harpa Concert Hall and is currently working with Reitir on the development of Nauthólsvegur (near Hotel Natura). They also received an introduction to the firm's major international projects currently underway.

A Valuable Learning Experience

The trip was extremely educational and further reinforced the importance of building bridges between universities and industry. Being able to connect academic studies with real-world professional environments in this way is truly a privilege, providing students with valuable insight into real estate development while fostering both understanding and inspiration.

We are very happy that we decided to participate in Torgið and encourage others to sign up for similar projects. This was an incredible opportunity that we are deeply grateful for. We learned a great deal from the project and gained valuable experience that we will be able to use in the future. We are also thankful for all the people we met along the way and the connections we formed. This is an experience that will stay with us for a long time.

Emilía Nótt and Karitas Líf conclude.

Further information about Torgið can be found here.