Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Varahina in Famolavolana Maritrano, Trano ary Rafitra Competition Category.

VarahinaMaritrano· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

A' Design Award Varahina Winner in Maritrano Category

5,331

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #182286

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika

Ny Volcano Visitor Center dia foibem-pandraisana mpitsidika any Islandy izay mampiseho vaovao momba ny jeolojia, ny tantara ary ny kolontsaina mikasika ireo volkano islandey. Ny trano dia mirefy 7.300 metatra toratelo (square feet) ary napetraka ao anatin'ny tany volkanika, mampitohy ireo toerana ambanin'ny tany amin'ny tafo voasokitra endrika. Tsotra ny fitambaran'ny akora ampiasaina, ahitana simenitra, metaly ary fitaratra, miaraka amin'ny tafo maitso natao hamelomana ireo zavamaniry eo an-toerana. Ireo fitaovana famolavolana parametrika no namolavola ny endrika miolikolika sady nitazona rafitra jeometrika mirindra. Ny lalan-kombana dia mitarika ny mpitsidika hiaina ny faravodilanitra, ny tany ary ny natiora.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Varahina

Nandresy ny A' Design Award Varahina ny famolavolana Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika, fankasitrahana malaza be omena ny famolavolana miavaka izay mampiavaka ny fahaiza-mamorona, ny fahazotoana ary ny fahamaotinan-tsaina. Ny mpandresy Varahina dia zavatra vita tanana mahay dia mahay ary mamorona mivantana izay manamafy ny traikefa be dia be, ny sarintsaina ary ny fahaizan-kafoy an'ny mpamolavola azy. Andrasana ho zavatra ankasitrahana be, ankafizina ary tiana, mahay amin'ny asa sady vaovao ny famolavolana Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika. Ity famolavolana nandresy ny A' Design Award Varahina ity dia mitahiry ny fomba fanao tsara indrindra amin'ny zavakanto, ny siansa, ny famolavolana ary ny teknolojia, ary tsara indrindra amin'ny fitandremana ny antsipirihany. Ny famolavolana Volcano Visitor Center Foibem-pandraisana Mpitsidika dia mahafa-po ny filana tsara, mikasika ny faniriana, mahasarika ny fihetseham-po ary misarika ny fahalianana.

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