Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Mphoto ya Bronze ya A' Design Award in Mapangidwe a Nyumba, Zomanga ndi Zomangidwa Competition Category.
BronzeZomangamanga· 2026
Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo
by Haisheng Xu
Client: Studio 0
Mphoto ya Bronze ya A' Design Award Winner in Zomangamanga Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #182286The Design
About Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo
Volcano Visitor Center ndi malo ochezera alendo ku Iceland omwe amapereka zidziwitso za sayansi ya nthaka, mbiri yakale, ndi chikhalidwe chokhudza mapiri ophulika a ku Iceland. Nyumbayi ili ndi malo okwana masikweya fiti 7,300 ndipo yamangidwa m'nthaka ya mapiri ophulika, kulumikiza zipinda zapansi pa nthaka ndi denga losemedwa mwaluso. Zomangira zake ndi zosavuta, zokhala ndi konkire, chitsulo, ndi galasi, ndipo denga lake lobiriwira linapangidwa kuti lithandizire zomera za m'derali. Zida zamakono zopangira mapulani (parametric design) zinathandiza kupanga mawonekedwe opindika koma osunga masamu oyenera a kamangidwe kake. Njira zoyendamo zimatsogolera alendo kuti aone chizimezime, nthaka, ndi chilengedwe.
The Recognition
About the Mphoto ya Bronze ya A' Design Award
Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo ndi mmodzi mwa opambana a Mphoto ya Bronze ya A' Design Award, kuzindikirika kolemekezeka kwambiri komwe kumaperekedwa kwa mapangidwe abwino kwambiri omwe amaonekera ndi luso lolenga, kuchenjera ndi nzeru zakuthwa. Opambana a Bronze ndi zinthu zaluso kwambiri ndi zolenga modabwitsa zomwe zimatsimikizira zochitika zazikulu, kulingalira ndi kuchenjera kwa opanga awo. Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo akuyembekezeka kukhala chinthu choyamikiridwa, chosirira ndi chokondedwa, chaukatswiri wapadera ndi chatsopano. Mapangidwe opambana Mphoto ya Bronze ya A' Design Award awa amaphatikiza machitidwe abwino kwambiri a luso, sayansi, kapangidwe ndi ukadaulo ndipo ndi abwino kwambiri chifukwa cha kusamala kwawo zazing'ono. Volcano Visitor Center Malo Ochezera Alendo amakwaniritsa zosowa mokongola, kukhudza zilakolako, kukopa mitima ndi kudzutsa chidwi.
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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