Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze in Igishushanyo cy'Ubwubatsi Competition Category.

BuronzeUbwubatsi· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze Winner in Ubwubatsi Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura

Volcano Visitor Center ni ikigo cy'abasura giherereye muri Isilande gitanga amakuru yerekeye ubumenyi bw'ubutaka, amateka n'umuco bijyanye n'ibirunga bya Isilande. Iyi nyubako ifite ubuso bwa metero kare 678 (square feet 7,300) kandi yubatswe mu butaka bw'ibirunga, ihuza ibyumba biri munsi y'ubutaka n'igisenge cyabajwe nk'igishushanyo. Ibikoresho byakoreshejwe ni ibyoroshye, bigizwe na beto, icyuma n'ikirahure, hamwe n'igisenge cy'icyatsi cyagenewe gufasha ibimera by'aho hantu. Ibikoresho by'igishushanyo cya parametric byafashije gushushanya imiterere igoramye mu gihe hakomejwe imiterere y'ubushishozi. Inzira z'abasura zibayobora kugira ngo babone aho ijuru rihurira n'isi, ubutaka na kamere.

The Recognition

About the Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze

Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura ni uwegukanye Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze, ishimwe ry'agaciro gakomeye ritangwa ku bishushanyo by'indashyikirwa birangwa no guhanga, ubwenge n'ubushishozi. Abegukanye Buronze ni ibihangano bifite ubuhanga bwinshi kandi bihanga cyane, bishimangira uburambe, ubwenge n'ubushobozi bw'ababihanze. Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura biteganyijwe ko izaba ikintu cyubahwa, gishimwa kandi gikundwa, gifite ubunyamwuga n'udushya. Iki gishushanyo cyegukanye Buronze gikoresha uburyo bwiza mu buhanzi, ubumenyi, ubushushanyo n'ikoranabuhanga kandi kirarenze mu gutaha ku tuntu duto. Volcano Visitor Center Ikigo cy'Abasura ishimisha ibyo dukeneye, ikora ku byifuzo byacu, itwara amarangamutima yacu kandi ikurura amatsiko yacu.

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