The Settlement Center stands near the bridge to Brákarey, where two of Borgarnes’s oldest buildings recall the town’s early trading history. The merchant house was built in 1877–78, and the adjoining warehouse followed in 1889. The merchant house later became a restaurant, and the warehouse was adapted to house two exhibitions for the Settlement Center, which opened in 2006.

The pavilion brings the two buildings together, giving them a common entrance and providing space for reception, ticketing, and a shop. From the street, it appears as a low, stone-clad volume between the historic timber buildings. Inside, the exposed rock face of Búðarklettur forms one side of the reception hall, with daylight falling along it through the glass roof.

From the pavilion, visitors enter the former warehouse, where two audio-guided exhibitions tell the story of Iceland’s settlement. One follows the early sea voyages and the establishment of the Alþingi at Þingvellir in 930. The other brings the story closer to Borgarnes through Egil’s Saga, which follows the poet and warrior Egill Skallagrímsson and his family. That exhibition is set in the warehouse’s sunken stone cellar, where the rough walls form part of the setting. Above the exhibitions, the attic houses Söguloftið, a performance space.