University of Iceland Main Building

Guðjón Samúelsson considered his design for the University of Iceland's main building a distinctly new Icelandic architectural style, one he hoped would help revive the spirit of the old Icelandic Commonwealth — a recurring theme across his work, much of it inspired by Iceland's volcanic geology. Completed and inaugurated on 17 June 1940, the building reportedly impressed the British commander occupying Iceland that same year enough that he chose not to requisition it, deeming it too beautiful to seize.