{A student}, studying architecture and design at Aalborg University, also took on the challenge of this year's Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant competition. Her design for a self-sustaining, eco-friendly greenhouse along with a restaurant in Iceland, which is a green Eden, was shortlisted for the competition organized by Bee Breeders.
As part of the Iceland Greenhouse Restaurant competition, participants were asked to design a greenhouse restaurant. The organizers required a comprehensive design that would serve its function year-round. The building would be constructed on the Vogafjós farm and would allow vegetables and fruits to be grown, which would then be served in the restaurant along with local products.
For detailed guidelines and the jury, we wrote about the Samkomuhús projects by Agnieszka Grzemska, Jakub Wichtowski and Jan Zieliński of UAP, and Following the terrain by Katarzyna Drągowska and Eliza Lasek of Warsaw University of Technology. Both concepts also made it to the list of shortlisted projects.
Restaurant guests can enjoy the Icelandic sky and landscape in warmth
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
Polish woman's project on the shortlist
Bee Breeders, together with a jury, selected proposals from among submissions from around the world that were based on a thoughtful idea and represented a range of ideas on sustainable design, landscape integration and new hybrid solutions. Among them, shortlisted for the competition was a project by Patrycja Ziemienowicz, a Polish woman currently finishing her Master's degree in Architecture and Design at Aalborg University in Denmark.
The restaurant project is located near the Mývatn springs
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
green Eden
Somewhere in a remote, rugged area near the end of the world, a small, manicured oasis of life has been preserved. A lush, green Eden, a sanctuary of bliss under a glazed sky. The moment you walk through the door, you are hit by a wave of warm happiness. It's a place that stimulates the senses, but also grounds and nourishes the soul. Imagine. You're sipping chilled, homemade kombucha sitting on the rooftop patio, with a view of the milky blue Mývatn hot springs on one side and the majestic Hverfjall volcano on the other. You watch the aurora borealis in winter or, if you prefer, the midnight sunset in summer. You are in the greenhouse, as it is always pleasantly warm here. You check the menu for the chef's latest specialties. You know that everything will be prepared with the chef's own high-quality ingredients, you can see the whole process with your own eyes yourself," introduces Patrycja Ziemieniowicz.
The project is not only a restaurant and greenhouse, but also a mini-shop,
yoga spaces, conference rooms and a terrace
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
A greenhouse, a restaurant, a mini store....
The project includes a restaurant that can accommodate more than a hundred guests, an organic food market as a mini store with goods straight from the greenhouse, a workshop for yoga and meditation, and upstairs spaces for conferences, lectures and other educational activities. The rooftop terrace is part of the restaurant, but can also be used for concerts and other outdoor events and stars.
first floor plan
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
The greenhouse allows visitors to get in touch with the production process and access to freshly harvested and highly nutritious food, thus shortening the supply chain from crop straight to table. Here visitors will find comfort, health and nutrition all year round. This place reconnects people with food, consumption with production, and strengthens the human connection with nature, where all vitality comes from. It inspires, enlightens and educates about the consumer food choices we make every day," says the author.
Among other things, the project uses aquaponics and vertical growing
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
regenerative design
Patrycja decided to use the potential of Iceland's nature. Her concept combines renewable geothermal energy with sustainable aquaponics and vertical growing technology, allowing the creation of a closed-loop symbiotic system on an extremely local scale - just within a single greenhouse.
The closed ecosystem results in a lack of pests or diseases, breaking the dependence on fertilizers and pesticides, and making the products completely organic. The facility is based on regenerative design, in which the output product is an input, and the "waste" is transformed into compost, becoming a resource, the architect explains.
Rainwater from the roof is collected and reused for the greenhouse. The indoor environment is monitored by control panel systems and automated ventilation dampers for temperature control, located along the ridge of the greenhouse. This ensures an even, pleasant climate throughout the year.
idea is based on regenerative design
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
aquaponic cultivation
The entire greenhouse is heated thanks to abundant reserves of Icelandic hot geothermal water to a stable air temperature of 23 to 25 degrees Celsius. Such a value is optimal for many plants, allowing for increased biodiversity.
The focus here is an agroecological approach, understood as a holistic approach to sustainable agricultural production while caring for the environment, the author adds.
That's why the young architect proposed aquaponic cultivation of vegetables in troughs and towers. Such cultivation is extremely efficient due to the reduced area and lower water consumption compared to conventional methods. The author suggested brook trout or golden trout, found in Iceland, as fish suitable for aquaponics.
The greenhouse was made of a glulam frame and shielded with tempered glass
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
local construction materials
The author relied on locally sourced materials - cement, gravel and stone wool. The building's foundation was made of manufactured concrete in Iceland, as were all floors, interior and exterior walls. The use of larch plank cladding minimized the carbon footprint. The greenhouse received a structural frame of glued laminated wood and was sheathed in four-millimeter-thick tempered glass set in aluminum profiles.
The restoration honors the beauty of the Icelandic landscape with its simplicity
© Patrycja Ziemienowicz
global issues
My project seeks to raise awareness of global problems, from inefficient food production systems and the water crisis to rising carbon emissions. It proposes to implement the sustainable agriculture model into architecture, in this case in an Icelandic context. The architectural expression of the proposal is the result of an integrated design process shaped by microclimatic conditions, where minimalism merges with the surrounding nature. The restoration with its simplicity honors the beauty that exists all around," concludes Patrycja Ziemienowicz.
