Competition
Two Iceland municipalities, Skútustaðahreppur and Þingeyjarsveit, are making plans to merge into the largest municipality in the country. The new region would cover roughly 12,000 square kilometres and be home to over 1,200 people. This new region in northern Iceland is looking to set an example to the rest of the country, and the world, in terms of its sustainability. As such it will be looking to operate a circular economy.
A circular economy is focused on sharing, lending, and reusing materials, products, and resources as much as possible. Unlike traditional linear economic models which have often been labelled as “take, make, waste”, a circular economy operates with as much waste materials and energy being used in other areas as possible. This is especially important, as the municipality has large fields of eroded land that needs to be restored with the use of fertilizer, lupina plants, and tree planting.
The Iceland Lake Mývatn Community House competition is run in partnership with Sveinn Margeirsson, mayor of Skútustaðahreppur. Participants are asked to submit designs for a community house that would serve as a prime example of the positive impact of a circular economy in the region and across Iceland. The community house would therefore be the region’s main location for trading, sharing, and recycling materials and resources in order to exemplify how a circular economy operates.
Mývatn is the spectacular region in the north of Iceland that is home to some of the country’s most awe-inspiring natural wonders and is considered the Northern Lights Capital of Iceland. The lake region is home to Iceland's fourth largest body of water, Lake Mývatn, which is 36.5 square kilometers in size and is home to a wealth of natural wonders and wildlife. [Img-top] – Lake Mývatn; [img-left] – Hverfjall Volcano; [img-center] – Grjótagjá Cave; [img-right] – Mývatn Nature Baths
Participants are asked to focus their designs around the concept of circular economy – sustainability and the reuse of materials should be at the core of submitted project designs. The community house will be a resource for both locals and tourists, providing everything from education to storage and lending of materials and equipment.
Participants are asked to focus their designs around the concept of circular economy.
As the Skútustaðahreppur council is planning the construction of this building, winning projects will need to be unique, creative, and practical, while fully embracing the ethos of a circular economy.
Download full competition brief for more information!
Competition is open to all. No professional qualification is required. Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams (4 team members maximum). Correspondence with organizers must be conducted in English; All information submitted by participants must be in English
