Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center) by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Mahuizolli A' Design Award Bronse in Calchihualiztli, Calmanaliztli ihuan Tlatecpanaliztli Tlachihchihualiztli Competition Category.
BronseCalchihualiztli· 2026
Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center)
by Haisheng Xu
Client: Studio 0
Mahuizolli A' Design Award Bronse Winner in Calchihualiztli Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #182286The Design
About Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center)
Volcano Visitor Center ce calli tlachiyaliztli ipan Islandia tlalpan, campa moteixmachtia tlen tlalmachiyotl, tlein opanoc yehuecauh, huan tlamatiliztli itech tepetl tlexochtli (volcanes) tlen Islandia. Inin calli quipia 7,300 pies cuadrados huan motlalia ihtec in tlalli tlen oquichiuh in tepetl tlexochtli, quinsansehualtia in calmeh tlen cateh tlaltzintlan ica ce calcuaitl tlachihchiuhtli queh tlacuicuiliztli. In tlachihualoni tlen ica omochiuh amo miec: tepancalli (concreto), tepoztli huan tezcatl, ica ce xoxoctic calcuaitl tlen omochiuh ma quipalehui in xihuitl tlen ompa mochantia. Ica parametric design tepoztlamatiliztli omochiuh in colihqui ixiptla, maski omopiaya ce tlamachiyotl tlen cualli monequi. In ohtli tlen ihtec in calli quinyacana in tlachixquimeh ma quittacan in ilhuicatl itlan, in tlalli huan in tlalticpacnantli.
The Recognition
About the Mahuizolli A' Design Award Bronse
Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center) ca in quicuic in Mahuizolli A' Design Award Bronse, hueyi tlamahuizoliztli tlen momaca in cualli tlachihualli in motenehua ipampa yancuic tlamantli, tlamatiliztli ihuan ixtlamatiliztli. In quicuicah Bronse ca tlachihualli in quipia toltecayotl ihuan quinextia in cenca miac nemiliztli ihuan tlamatiliztli intlachihuanime. Ca quinequi in Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center) ca tlazohtli tlamantli, mahuiztic ihuan cualli. Ni dizayno in quicuic Bronse quipia cualli toltecayotl ihuan quitta in tlen tepiton. Volcano Visitor Center Inpaquiliztli Calli ipan Tlachixquimeh (Visitor Center) quipaquiltia in tlacah ihuan quitlamahuiztiltia in intlanequiliz.
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
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