The Meat House is the second of two warehouses once owned by Ørum & Wulff in Vopnafjörður in northeast Iceland. Its name comes from the meat carcasses stored there for export, but it was sometimes called the Wool House since it also held wool. Like the Granary, it was saved from demolition in 1975 by the National Museum of Iceland, which relocated these two historic buildings to Árbær Open Air museum.
The Meat House or Kjöthúsið now houses the exhibition "Architecture in the Capital", which deals with house construction in the century between1840-1940. The exhibition is divided into three parts. The first tells the story of the distinctive Reykjavík architecture of the half-stone houses, where the longer walls are made of hewn stone, and the gables are made of timber. The second part deals with timber houses in Reykjavík, especially the Norwegian catalogue houses imported to Iceland at the turn of the 20th century, which gave downtown Reykjavík its distinctive look. The third part deals with the concrete revolution.
The Building Preservation Centre is on the first floor of the building. It is a consultation office where you can get information on the renovation of older buildings. The office is open for consultation most Wednesdays between 1500 and 1700. In addition to the Building Preservation Centre, the exhibition "Colour and Beauty" is also on the first floor, which deals with the history of painting.
