Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Brontzezko Saria A' Design Award in Arkitektura, Eraikin eta Egitura Diseinua Competition Category.

BrontzeArkitektura· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

Brontzezko Saria A' Design Award Winner in Arkitektura Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #182286

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa

Volcano Visitor Center Islandiako bisitarien zentro bat da, Islandiako sumendiei buruzko informazio geologikoa, historikoa eta kulturala aurkezten duena. Eraikinak 7.300 oin karratu hartzen ditu eta lur bolkanikoan txertatuta dago, lurpeko espazioak eskultura-itxurako estalki-paisaia batekin lotuz. Materialen paleta soila da: hormigoia, metala eta beira, tokiko landareak hazteko diseinatutako estalki berde batekin. Diseinu parametrikoko tresnek forma kurbatua moldatu zuten, geometria arrazional bati eutsiz. Zirkulazioak bisitariak gidatzen ditu zerumuga, lurra eta natura esperimentatzera.

The Recognition

About the Brontzezko Saria A' Design Award

Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa Brontzezko Saria A' Design Award irabazlea da, sormenak, asmamenak eta zorroztasunak bereizten dituzten diseinu bikainei ematen zaien aitorpen oso prestijiotsua. Brontze-mailako irabazleak trebetasunez beteriko eta nabarmenki sortzaileak diren artefaktuak dira, beren diseinatzaileen esperientzia zabala, irudimena eta ekimena egiaztatzen dutenak. Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa oso estimatua, miretsia eta maitea den objektua izatea espero da, nabarmenki profesionala eta berritzailea dena. Brontzezko Saria A' Design Award irabazi duen diseinu honek artearen, zientziaren, diseinuaren eta teknologiaren praktika onenak biltzen ditu eta xehetasunei ematen dien arretagatik bikaina da. Volcano Visitor Center Bisitarien Zentroa beharrak bikain asetzen dituen, desirak ukitzen dituen, sentimenduak xarmatzen dituen eta jakin-mina erakartzen duen lana da.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Embedded within the volcanic terrain, the project dissolves the boundary between building and landscape, offering a continuous journey of light, earth, and horizon. By uniting subterranean shelter with sculpted roofscape, it transforms architecture into an environmental mediator that preserves the site while intensifying experience, inviting visitors to inhabit nature not as observers, but as participants in its elemental presence.
Dimensions & Packaging: 7,300 square feet.
Tags: Sustainability, Landscape Architecture, Mobius,Parametric, Curvilinear
Production Technology: The building is intended to use local materials and minimize its impact on the existing landscape. The material palette is kept simple, consisting of concrete, metal, and glass, with a green roof designed to support local plants. Parametric design tools were used to create a dynamic form responding to the organic landscape while maintaining rational geometry and production control. View and lighting analyses were also used to verify the design outcomes.
Design Challenge: The creative challenge was to create a manmade form that responds to the existing landscape and site language without simply mimicking nature. The design philosophy explores how humans, while adapting to nature, interpret and reshape the surrounding environment to achieve a new balance that can sustain human life in a sustainable and long-lasting way.
Research: The research focused on two main aspects. The first examined how volcanic activities have shaped Iceland’s landscape and human activities. It was particularly inspiring to understand how volcanoes and the hidden underground world provide fertile soil and geothermal heat for life, while many human activities and habitats are partially or fully embedded underground. The second aspect studied the geometries and forms generated by volcanic activities.
Inspiration: Iceland’s settlement history is shaped by volcanic forces and the landscapes and energy they generate. The vast horizontal terrain fosters a close relationship between human life and the earth. Inspired by volcanic forms and the mystery of the underground, the design reinforces this connection by integrating surface and subterranean space. It invites visitors to reflect on nature as they experience the expansive horizon.
Project Duration: 2025, Iceland
Operation Flow: The design serves as a tourist center introducing geological, historical, and cultural information about Icelandic volcanoes, showing how volcanic activities have shaped Iceland’s environmental and social landscapes. The concept originates from volcanic terrain, particularly exploring the interface between the ground surface and the underground. Around this interface, the building's circulation guides visitors to experience the horizon, the land, and nature.
Team Members: Haisheng Xu