CASE STUDY
| Lava Centre, Iceland
Not much on earth can match the wonder and ferocity of a volcano. Paul Milligan visited a new museum in Iceland tasked with educating visitors on this natural phenomenon.
Fire and ice
T
hey say every cloud has a silver
came when one of the founders of the project,
We have learnt from years of experience that if people participate they will learn much faster, and the experience is much greater for them.
Ole Gunnar Sigardsson was stranded in Florida
- Hringur Hafsteinsson, Gagarin
lining, and in the case of the Lava Centre in the town of Hvolsvöllur in Iceland, it’s certainly true. The inspiration for the museum
during the ash cloud eruption in 2010. All the American TV coverage was beamed from his
Iceland Air and the National Bank of Iceland to
different companies who could provide us with
native land and it led him to wonder why there
invest in tourist attractions outside of Reykavik.
technology.”
wasn’t something back home to represent the
The town of Hvolsvöllur was chosen because
The whole concept for the Lava Centre is
island’s incredible natural landscape. Ádbjörn
of its close proximity to five active volcanoes,
based on a script written by leading Icelandic
Björgvinsson, the director of sales and marketing
but it is also situated on a main road through
geoscientist Ari Trausti Gudmundsson. It was
for the Lava Centre, was brought on board
which 60% of all tourists drive past during their
then over to Reykjavík-based interactive media
early on after successfully setting up The Whale
stay on the island. To help keep costs low, the
agency Gagarin to transform that in to a modern-
Museum in northern Iceland in the late 1990s.
museum owners lease the building from a local
day visitor attraction.
He takes up the story; “In the beginning I said we
builder (who self-financed the build) to ensure
the AV part of the project was Reykjavík-based
cannot go half way, we have to create a unique
the initial funding could sustain a few years
integrator Feris. “I’m driven by passion, I don’t
experience, a unique building, which will capture
before investors needed to see a return. Once
own any of the museum,” says Björgvinsson “I
people’s attention, which will make people come
the building began to take shape it was down to
don’t gain financially if it goes well. I want to
to us. You don’t send tourists to a location,
Björgvinsson to find the right people to make the
create something unique and leave something
they will go where they want to go. We had
interior come alive. “We started off by finding
behind for the community. I feel like Feris put
to create a presentation on how we thought it
one of the best architects in Iceland (Basalt) at
their hearts into what they are doing.
would all work, because if I couldn’t sell it to the
interpreting buildings within nature. We then
was the key reason we decided to work with
investors how was I going to sell it to tourists?”
touched base with the geology department at
Feris and Gagarin. We went through the same
Björgvinsson said it took about a year to get the
the University of Iceland, the Met Office, the
presentation to Feris that we gave to investors.
funding, with the crucial element coming from
local police and the authorities. When we knew
We told them what we wanted to achieve, and
the Iceland Tourism Fund, which was setup by
what we wanted to install we started talking to
they swallowed the ideas whole, they wanted >
38 | November 2017
Tasked with taking on
That
www.inAVateonthenet.net