Arnhildur Pálmadóttir and s. ap architects work on both traditional architectural and design projects but also hypothetical research projects that bypass existing systems and look to the technology of the future with the aim of developing new methods of construction in times of climate change. In their research projects, s. ap architects focus on developing their projects through narratives that give the freedom to ignore existing systems and to explore innovative and progressive solutions of the future.

This mix of real and hypothetical projects creates interesting conversation and development projects that are not tied to predetermined ideas, rules or conclusions, so all projects have innovative value. The studio is currently working on an exhibition of its Lavaforming project, which will be shown at DesignMarch 2022, based on stories and interdisciplinary research on lava and lava flow and how it has shaped the earth’s surface for billions of years, but in the project we look at its potential as a building material.

Lavaforming is a project of a high-tech society that has given up on profit maximization and is therefore free to explore innovative and progressive solutions. Part of the show is a modified video game where the Lavaforming world has been set up so that people can experience it through video game technology.

“We have come to the point, in terms of climate change, that we are forced to imagine a world that looks different from the one we know, using different methods and ideologies.”

Arnhildur Pálmadóttir graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2006 with a BA degree in architecture. Prior to that she had worked as a 3d visualizer and technical drawer at engineering and architectural firms in Iceland and Norway. After her BA studies, Arnhildur continued her studies at the Barcelona School of Architecture – ETSAB but later completed a master’s degree from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. Arnhildur has an entrepreneurial attitude and an interdisciplinary interest that she uses to tackle the projects from different perspectives while developing cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods in the projects she undertakes.

TBA