Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award in Brons in Architectuur, Gebouwen en Constructieontwerp Competition Category.

BronsArchitectuur· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

A' Design Award in Brons Winner in Architectuur 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 Bezoekerscentrum

Volcano Visitor Center is een bezoekerscentrum in IJsland dat geologische, historische en culturele informatie over IJslandse vulkanen presenteert. Het gebouw beslaat 7.300 vierkante voet en is in het vulkanische terrein ingebed, waarbij ondergrondse ruimtes worden verbonden met een gebeeldhouwd daklandschap. Het materialenpalet is eenvoudig en bestaat uit beton, metaal en glas, met een groen dak dat is ontworpen om lokale planten te ondersteunen. Parametrische ontwerptools gaven vorm aan de gebogen vorm, met behoud van een rationele geometrie. De circulatie leidt bezoekers om de horizon, het land en de natuur te ervaren.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award in Brons

Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Brons, een hoogst prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan uitstekende ontwerpen die zich onderscheiden door creativiteit, vindingrijkheid en scherpzinnigheid. Winnaars in Brons zijn ruimschoots vaardige en opvallend creatieve artefacten die de grote ervaring, verbeelding en het vernuft van hun ontwerpers bevestigen. Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum wordt verwacht een hooggewaardeerd, bewonderd en gekoesterd object te zijn dat opmerkelijk professioneel en innovatief is. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Brons heeft gewonnen, verwerkt de beste praktijken in kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie en is uitstekend door zijn aandacht voor detail. Volcano Visitor Center Bezoekerscentrum bevredigt schitterend behoeften, raakt verlangens, charmeert gevoelens en spreekt de nieuwsgierigheid aan.

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