Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe by Haisheng Xu

Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Ibhaso Lebhronzi le-A' Design Award in Uyilo lweZakhiwo, Isakhiwo kunye neMilo Competition Category.

IbhronziUyilo lweZakhiwo· 2026

Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe

by Haisheng Xu

Client: Studio 0

Ibhaso Lebhronzi le-A' Design Award Winner in Uyilo lweZakhiwo 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 Iziko Leendwendwe

I-Volcano Visitor Center liziko leendwendwe eIceland elibonisa ulwazi lwejoloji, lwembali, kunye lwenkcubeko malunga neentaba-mlilo zase-Iceland. Isakhiwo sigubungela iikhulu ezisixhenxe elinamakhulu amathathu eesikwere-mitha (7,300 square feet) kwaye sifakwe kumhlaba weentaba-mlilo, sidibanisa izithuba ezingaphantsi komhlaba nophahla oluqingqiweyo. Izinto ezisetyenzisiweyo zilula, ziquka ikhonkrithi, isinyithi, kunye neglasi, kunye nophahla oluluhlaza olwenzelwe ukuxhasa izityalo zendawo. Izixhobo zoyilo lweparametric zabumba imilo egobileyo ngelixa zigcina ijometri enengqiqo. Indlela yokuhamba ikhokela iindwendwe ukuba zifumane amava omda wesibhakabhaka, umhlaba, kunye nendalo.

The Recognition

About the Ibhaso Lebhronzi le-A' Design Award

Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe ngumphumeleli weIbhaso Lebhronzi le-A' Design Award, ukuqatshelwa okuhlonitshwayo kakhulu okunikwa imiyilo ephawulekayo eyahlukaniswa kukuyila, ubukrelekrele nobukrelekrele. Abaphumeleleyo beBhronzi ziimveliso ezinobuchule obukhulu nezidala ngokumangalisayo ezingqina amava aphangaleleyo, ukucinga nokwazi ukuzenzela kwabayili bazo. Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe iyathenjwa ukuba ibe yimpahla exatyiswa kakhulu, edunyiswayo nethandwayo enobungcali obuphawulekayo nezinto ezintsha. Lo myilo uphumeleleyo weIbhaso Lebhronzi le-A' Design Award ubandakanya iindlela ezilungileyo kakhulu kubugcisa, inzululwazi, uyilo kunye nobuchwephesha kwaye ugqwesile ngenxa yokunikela ingqalelo kwiinkcukacha. Volcano Visitor Center Iziko Leendwendwe iyanelisa iimfuno ngokumangalisayo, ichukumisa iinqwenelo, ikhwebela iimvakalelo kwaye itsala umdla.

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