An open international contest is being held for a new restaurant for locally-grown produce next to Lake Mývatn in Iceland. The ‘Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant’ competition invites students and professionals to draw up ‘durable and long-lasting’ proposals for a new hospital facility combining ‘organic, indoor farming with a uniquely Icelandic aesthetic.’
The project – backed by Vogafjós Farm Resort – will deliver a new year-round restaurant spotlighting indoor farming concepts and featuring a comfortable space to seat roughly 100 guests with views of the nearby Lake Mývatn nature baths and Hverfjall volcano.
According to the brief: ‘The Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant competition is a collaboration with Vogafjós Farm Resort, located east of Lake Mývatn. For this competition, participants are tasked with designing a greenhouse concept restaurant. Fresh, locally grown foods are scarce in Iceland, particularly during the winter months.
‘The Greenhouse Restaurant competition is calling for submissions for designs of a greenhouse that would also function as a dine-in restaurant. The greenhouse would allow Vogafjós Farm to grow salad vegetables, fruits, and berries that could then be served in the restaurant, offering the guests an immersive experience as well as delicious, locally -produced food.’
The rugged landscape of the volcanically active, mid-Atlantic island includes various hot springs, lava fields, mountains, and glaciers which draw a year-round flow of tourists. Despite Iceland’s established hospitality industry, the island has limited homegrown produce such as salad vegetables, fruits, and berries.
The open call, organized by Bee Breeders, is the latest to be held by the international competitions platform, which earlier this year sought ideas for a new self-contained two-person overnight cabin at the Earth Energies Sanctuary retreat in New Zealand, for a new 500-niche columbarium at the Forest Cemetery in Riga, and for a series of sustainable overnight cabins at the Vale De Moses yoga retreat in Portugal.
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