Foreword

The Iceland Cave Tower Competition was the fourth Bee Breeders event in an ongoing design series, set in the extraordinary landscape of Iceland. The competition site on Vogar farmland is located near lake Mývatn in northern Iceland, and the event was organized in partnership with the landowners, Landeigendur Voga ehf. 

Participants were tasked with submitting proposals for an observation point accommodating a small visitor center on the farmland’s site overlooking Vogagjá – a spectacular ground fissure resulting from seismic activity. The fissure is especially significant as a marker of the boundary between the two tectonic plates of the European and North American continents. 

The Vogagjá fissure also houses caves that have become popular bathing spots, with waters naturally heated by volcanic flows. The caves receive thousands of annual visitors, and while the remote site of Vogar farmland has become a popular destination, its surrounding lava fields have unfortunately sustained significant damage in recent years. In addition to an observation point to identify the site, the landowners seek a modular design solution for walking paths to better preserve the fragile natural surroundings. 

The project sought eco-friendly, site-specific solutions. Proposals were considered for their constructability, cost-effectiveness, resistance to extreme weather, environmental responsibility, energy-efficiency, and low maintenance. They were also evaluated for their strength of concept and their promise to become a meaningful destination. The winning schemes will be considered for construction. 

Hundreds of submissions were received from around the world. They creatively explored a broad variety of forms, means for integration within the landscape, and also abstract expressions. Designs experimented with both monolithic and humble presences. While some proposals made use of site-specific stone and earth as primary building materials, others proposed methods for prefabrication or utilization of factory-produced construction elements. 

Bee Breeders collaborated with a fantastic international and regional jury for this event: Louis Becker, partner at Henning Larsen; Marshall Blecher, founder of Marshall Blecher Studio; Jette Hopp, director at Snohetta; Borghildur Indriðadóttir, Icelandic artist; and Kristina Loock, head of business development at GMP. We express our gratitude to the jury panel for its support and conscientious analysis of the submissions. 

Bee Breeders and its jury panel would like to thank each of the participants for submitting such a range of ideas to this competition!

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Iceland 
Cave Tower Iceland 
Cave Tower
Official partner
Iceland 
Cave Tower

1st Prize Winner

Project name

Rising from Grjótagjá

Competitions help to engage and think about projects with less constraints, which allows to create new fundamental concepts and values.

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Authors Mareike Schlatow, Gaspar Cánepa
Country Denmark

2nd Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

THE MOVING SURFACES

We think that taking part in competitions is a very interesting experience that broadens our horizons. It provides us with an opportunity to work in a group setting and prepares us for our future careers. Participation in competitions enables us to present our design vision to a larger audience and compare it with the ideas of other participants.

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Authors Aleksandra Bieszka, Maria Pielach, Aleksandra Mucha
Country Poland
+146 points Buildner University Rankings

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

hófsemi

For us, taking part in architectural vision competition is a big chance for experimentation with space and structure, an opportunity to celebrate the design process and to face unusual topics. It develops us as professionals and motivates us to search for new ways of thinking about architecture.

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Country Poland

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

SKERA Visitor Centre

When you are young, a competition helps you find a narrative, present an idea, and get familiar with silly deadlines. As you get older, a competition is a good way to break routine. Competitions offer a rare opportunity to showcase and experiment with ideas and architectural expression without restrictions. You challenge your skills and learn new things.

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Authors Vaia Vakouli, Orestis Gkouvas
Country United Kingdom

Client Favorite

Project name

Dance of the Giants

We adore challenges and architecture competitions are a great way to keep the creative juices flowing, as they encourage imaginative freedom. That said, it is a great platform for emerging architects to showcase their design skills and share unique ideas.

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Country Lithuania

Honorable Mentions

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Project name

The Grjótagjá Tower

Author Barbara Drud Henningsen
Country Denmark
Project name

Monolith

Project name

HIGH GROUND

Authors Bruce Feng, Alexandra Hopkins, Penny Fuller, Jad Silvester
Country Australia
Project name

Together Apart

Author Arthur Analts
Country Latvia
Project name

KLAMM

Authors Martynas Degutis, Michael Samson, Justus Würtenberger
Country Germany

Shortlisted projects

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SPROUTING LANDSCAPE

Rui pedro Santos

Ricardo Ibrahim

Portugal

Fracture

Blazka Ilovar

Mojca Kastelic

Nika Guzelj

Ursa Heric

University of Ljubljana, Faculty for architecture, Slovenia

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Slovenia

EARTH TOWER

Thibaut Van der beken

Aurélie Van calenbergh

Oskar Vanhulst

Belgium

Yfir Landturn

Alexandra Georgescu

Tomas Kozelsky

Viktor Odstrčilík

KOGAA

Czech Republic

Grjótagjá Ark

Gabriel Stuart

Koosha Hosseini

Royal Institute of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Sweden

Dance of the Giants

Agata Vodnicka

Andrius Raguotis

Lithuania

THE MOVING SURFACES

Aleksandra Bieszka

Maria Pielach

Aleksandra Mucha

Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu

+146 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

Displaced

Afshan Behnamghader

Konstantinos Moustakas

Anna Vasileiou

Peter Lin

United States

Monolith

Giacomo Cozzi

Andrea Maltinti

Italy

Inside Out

Pablo Castro

Louis Boulacheb

Ecole nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Belleville

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
France

HIGH GROUND

Bruce Feng

Alexandra Hopkins

Penny Fuller

Jad Silvester

Silvester Fuller

Australia

KLAMM

Martynas Degutis

Michael Samson

Justus Würtenberger

Germany

Ubi Via

Laia Rafel filella

Bianca Suárez steckelmacher

Marc Sanchez alfonso

Ignacio Escarpenter garcia

Spain

Over The Crevice - On the Beautiful & the Sublime

Anton Schneider

Andri Luescher

Ryan Nguyen

Miaojie Zhang

United States

PERISCOPE

Antonio Salvi

Antonello Boschi

Francesco Polci

Filippo Pecorai

Italy

Upside Down

Lucas Dias

Ariel Calabrese

France

INSIGHT Iceland Cave Tower

Valentín andres Vodanovic

Alejandro Nicolas Rodriguez Masjoan

Agustín Francisco Rennella

Facultad De Arquitectura, Urbanismo Y Diseño (FAUD) - Universidad Nacional De Córdoba (UNC), Argentina.

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Argentina

Symbiosis

Aleksandar Dadic

FACULTY OF TECHNICAL SCIENCES IN NOVI SAD

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Serbia

Together Apart

Arthur Analts

Variant Studio

Latvia

The Fault

Marion Duval

Vincent Lecler

France

At the Crossroads

Piotr Dziewierz

Filip Sierak

Maria Zimnoch

Poland

The Bridge between two Continents

Finn Blindow

Julius Wolff

Münster School of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany

Between Gaps

Alejandro Moreno

Mexico

Jafnvægi_Cave Tower

Dani Reimers

Camrin Plaatjes

Phillippe Fouché

Jacques Steyn

SAOTA

South Africa

mörk

Tauri Tamme

Anna Solts

Elis Märks

Saamuel Rammo

Tallinn University of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Estonia

Rising from Grjótagjá

Mareike Schlatow

Gaspar Cánepa

Denmark

Pipe Dream

Rickard Jakobsson

Markus Wenden

Sweden

LANDSCOPE

Peter Tokaji

N. bence Krajnyak

Hungary

SKERA Visitor Centre

Vaia Vakouli

Orestis Gkouvas

United Kingdom

The Grjótagjá Tower

Barbara Drud Henningsen

Denmark

A prefab tower in the landscape for Reykjahlíð

Aurélien Massart

Thomas Lourdeaux

Thibault Lerouge

Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
France

hófsemi

Kamila Szatanowska

Paulina Rogalska

Poland

ICELAND CAVE TOWER

Kiril Shopov

Bulgaria

Suture

Norbert Pánovits

Laszló Simon

Vanda Kocsis

Dóra Grádinger

Hungary

cave. light. house.

Benjamin Smithers

Kofong Hsia

United States

TOWER BRIDGE

Jędrzej Pawlaczyk

Anna Swarowska

Marcin Gęzikiewicz

Poland

POP-OUT

Matthew Casaverde

Rj Fiorentino

Sebastian Faciolince

Sholan Kunjappan

United States

FOREGROUND, BACKGROUND, UNDERGROUND

Anton Boman

Lars filip Cullin

Denmark

ANTRUM. A visitor center and observation tower by the Grjótagjá Caves

Carlo giovanni Bernyak

Martino Bonfioli

Cecilia giulia Bersani

Italy

THE FRAME

Antonio Pérez cerpa

Pablo Delgado márquez

Ruben Ortega gonzalez

Spain