Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò by Haisheng Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ìkọ́lé, Ilé àti Ètò Competition Category.
IdẹÌkọ́lé· 2026
Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò
by Haisheng Xu
Client: Studio 0
Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award Winner in Ìkọ́lé Category
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About Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò
Volcano Visitor Center jẹ́ ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí àwọn àlejò ní orílẹ̀-èdè Iceland tí ó ń ṣàfihàn ìsọfúnni nípa ilẹ̀-ayé, ìtàn, àti àṣà nípa àwọn òkè-ayọnáálẹ̀ ilẹ̀ Iceland. Ilé náà gba iwọ̀n ẹsẹ̀ bàtà oníhàmẹ́rin 7,300, a sì gbé e sínú ilẹ̀ òkè-ayọnáálẹ̀ náà, ní sísopọ̀ àwọn àyè abẹ́lẹ̀ pẹ̀lú òrùlé tí a gbẹ́ lọ́nà iṣẹ́-ọnà. Àwọn ohun èlò tí a lò rọrùn, wọ́n ní kọ́ńkírítì, irin, àti gíláàsì nínú, pẹ̀lú òrùlé aláwọ̀ ewé tí a ṣe láti gbé àwọn ewéko ìbílẹ̀ ró. Àwọn irinṣẹ́ ìṣèwé oníparamẹ́tíríìkì ni wọ́n dá ìrísí olóríkéríkẹ́ náà nígbà tí wọ́n ń pa jiọmẹ́tírì tó bọ́gbọ́n mú mọ́. Ọ̀nà ìrìnkiri ń darí àwọn àlejò láti ní ìrírí ojú-ọ̀run, ilẹ̀, àti ìṣẹ̀dá.
The Recognition
About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award
Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ olókìkí gan-an tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe tó tayọ tí wọ́n yàtọ̀ nípasẹ̀ ìṣẹ̀dá, àrékérekè àti ọgbọ́n inú. Àwọn olùborí Idẹ jẹ́ àwọn ohun èlò tó ní ìjáfáfá gan-an tí wọ́n sì ní ìṣẹ̀dá tó yani lẹ́nu tí wọ́n ń ṣe ẹ̀rí ìrírí gbígbòòrò, ìrònú àti ọgbọ́n àwọn olùṣàwòṣe wọn. A retí pé Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò yóò jẹ́ ohun tí a kà sí gidigidi, tí a gbóríyìn fún tí a sì nífẹ̀ẹ́, tó jẹ́ ti ọ̀jáfáfá lọ́nà tó ṣe pàtàkì tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award yìí ń kó àwọn ọ̀nà tó dára jùlọ nínú iṣẹ́ ọnà, sáyẹ́ǹsì, àwòṣe àti ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ jọ, ó sì tayọ nítorí àfiyèsí rẹ̀ sí àwọn àlàyé kékeré. Volcano Visitor Center Ilé-ìgbọ̀ọ́sí Àwọn Àlejò ń tẹ́ àwọn ohun tí a nílò lọ́rùn lọ́nà àgbàyanu, ó ń fọwọ́ kan àwọn ìfẹ́ inú, ó ń gbà ọkàn ó sì ń fa ìfẹ́ láti mọ̀ mọ́ra.
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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