Hallgrímskirkja, named after seventeenth century poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson, was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson and completed in 1986 after 41 years of construction. Samúelsson, who also designed the National Theatre of Iceland and the University of Iceland, translates Iceland’s basalt column formations into a series of vertical reinforced concrete ribs that rise toward the central 74,5m tower. Positioned on elevated ground, the church uses its hilltop site to extend visual presence across Reykjavík’s low rise fabric. The expressionist massing recalls both Gothic verticality and the hexagonal geology of Svartifoss waterfall, developing a formal language distinct from yet related to Copenhagen's Grundtvig's Church.

The interior follows a three nave hall church plan, expressing Lutheran restraint through exposed concrete columns, pale surfaces, and clear glazed windows that maintain a continuous visual relationship with shifting weather and light. Space is defined by volume rather than decoration, reinforcing the primacy of word and acoustics over image.