Svetlana Jovic
Iceland sheltering
This thesis proposal is for a energy research center combined with a tourist information center. The program synthesis is carried forth through a landscape strategy that relies on a spiraling building composition and a design based on the extreme light conditions on the site.
The building contains a large mix of program elements, most variedly composed around the tourist visitors. It includes artificial gardens, a sports and health center, a botanical garden and more. These programs are distributed within a temporally pulsating, spiral organization. The building provides a climatic sheltered zone for the groups of programs. This is realized with a large sheltering wall towards the northern region. This wall is perforated to give a filtering of light in summer when the sun hardly sets. The climatic and light filter provides shelter and a programmed interior that is based on a core-oriented research center and a continuous distributed landscape band that penetrates to the interior of the building.