Inhabiting Flow: Strategies for Tourist Oriented Architecture in Volatile Icelandic Landscapes

Abstract

The volatile terrain in Iceland, a landscape of perpetual flux in the space of places, flows and time, demands building methods which are empathetic to its unwieldy behaviour. An inundation of tourists over the past decade has influenced both rural and urban approaches to development and occupancy, impacted ecological conditions and permeated the cultural atmosphere. By examining the introspective, performative and transitory expressions of Icelandic cultural identity through the built environment, design strategies emerge that can reinforce a resilient way of life. The Island of Heimaey serves as a test site for speculative research of the implications of integrated, anticipatory architecture for inhabiting flow.