Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz in Nhazi Ụlọ Owu, Ụlọ na Ihe Owuwu Competition Category.

BronzỤlọ Owu· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz Winner in Ụlọ Owu Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa

Volcano Visitor Center bụ ebe nnabata ndị ọbịa dị na Iceland nke na-egosipụta ozi gbasara ala, akụkọ ihe mere eme, na omenala banyere ugwu mgbawa ọkụ ndị Iceland. Ụlọ a ruru square feet 7,300 ma e wunyere ya n'ime ala ugwu mgbawa ọkụ, na-ejikọta oghere ndị dị n'okpuru ala na elu ụlọ a kpụrụ akpụ. Ihe eji arụ ya dị mfe, gụnyere kọnkịrị, ígwè, na iko, yana elu ụlọ ndụ ndụ e mere iji kwado ahịhịa ndị obodo. Ngwá ọrụ nhazi parametric kpụrụ ụdị gbagọrọ agbagọ ya ma na-edebe usoro jiometrị doro anya. Ụzọ njegharị na-eduzi ndị ọbịa ka ha nwee ahụmahụ nke mbara igwe, ala, na okike.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz

Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz, nnabata dị oke ugwu e nyere design ndị pụtara ìhè nke a ma ama maka nzụlite ihe, ọgụgụ isi na nghọta. Ndị meriri na Bronz bụ ihe e mere nke ndị nwere nka nke ukwuu ma dị mma n'imepụta nke na-egosi ahụmahụ buru ibu, echiche na ọgụgụ isi nke ndị designer ha. A na-atụ anya na Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa ga-abụ ihe a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya, nke dị oke ọrụ ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz na-agụnye ụzọ kacha mma n'ime nka, sayensị, design na teknụzụ, ma dị mma nke ukwuu maka nlebara anya ya n'obere ihe. Volcano Visitor Center Ebe Nnabata Ndị Ọbịa na-emezu mkpa nke ọma, na-emetụ ọchịchọ aka, na-adọrọ mmetụta obi ma na-adọta ọchịchọ ịmara.

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