ICELAND CAVES VISITOR CENTRE

The Grjótagjá caves, a collection of three small caves located near Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland, are home to some of the most beautiful geothermal pools in the world, and were made famous after appearing on Game of Thrones.

Grjótagjá sits on the tectonic divide between Europe and America. With an idyllic temperature of 39-40 degrees, the geothermal pools became popular with locals, with one cave becoming a dedicated women’s cave, Kvennagjá, and another for men, Karlagjá.

Unfortunately, excessive tourism is damaging the natural surroundings of this delicate region. Therefore, in order to protect the natural landscape, the landowners are looking to make the fissure safer and more accessible, with stairs and platforms situated at key points, so that visitors aren’t forced to crawl around dangerous caves and rock outcrops.

THAA entered this international competition to design a viewing tower and ancillary buildings for visitors and administrators at the Grjótagjá cave complex situated in Vogar farmland.

Our interpretation of the brief was to design 4 towers, with additional structures along the fault line, stitching the tectonic fissure together.

The towers act as a landmark visible from a distance, as well as offering visitors views of the surroundings from their viewing platforms.

Each tower has a staircase leading to an observation platform sandwiched between two concrete plates that mimic the nature of the fault line and providing framed views out towards the landscape.