Competition Brief:
"The Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant competition is a collaboration with Vogafjós Farm Resort, located east of Lake Mývatn. For this competition, participants are tasked with designing a greenhouse concept restaurant. Fresh, locally grown foods are scarce in Iceland, particularly during the winter months. The Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant competition is calling for submissions for designs of a greenhouse that would also function as a dine-in restaurant. The greenhouse would allow Vogafjós Farm to grow salad vegetables, fruits, and berries that could then be served in the restaurant, offering the guests an immersive experience, as well as delicious, locally produced food. Designs for the Greenhouse Restaurant would need to accommodate around 100 guests and include standard amenities, such as an appropriately sized kitchen, storage facilities, and toilets. The owners would like to develop a restaurant in which customers could see how the food that they'll be eating is grown, combined with a view of the milky blue mineral water of Mývatn Nature Baths on one side and Hverfjall volcano on the other. . . The naturally heated hot springs can be used as a heating source, but it is not a mandatory requirement."
Competition Entry Description:
The form of the project is derived from both the physical and vernacular contextual conditions. The floor plan references the circular form of volcanic formations and the notion of terraforming - the earth’s emerging from the core to the surface - a moment of focus in an otherwise desolate landscape. The architectural form emerges subtly from the surrounding landscape, providing a privileged view of the pools and the Hverfjall volcano in the distance. The cloistered courtyard mediates light pollution from the greenhouse into the surrounding landscape - particularly through the darkness of the winter months.