Abandoned Airport, Djúpivogur / Island

Organizers
YAC s.r.l.
Young Architects Competitions
Via Borgonuovo 5
40125 Bologna, Italia

Brief
Discourses on architecture have long reflected upon non-places: infrastructures which are always identical to themselves and unable to connect in any way with time and space.

When a geometric and raven-black runway, almost resembling an artist’s sharp mark, extends on a green, jagged coast reaching its end on a black shore of fine, basaltic sand, even an airport, even a non-place, can take on a different meaning.

If, then, the airport is abandoned, and no vehicles fly on it, but rather flocks of birds which nest and find their home in the surrounding humid areas, a sort of magic occurs generating posthuman places and evoking an almost dystopic scenario, particularly loved by cinema and literature.

This is the case of Djúpavogsflugvöllur, an abandoned line of grey asphalt south of a colourful town of fishermen who place snow-white whale bones as decorative elements on the fences of their houses.

It is to foster a discreet yet immersive contact with the Icelandic nature and fauna that Abandoned Airport was born, the new competition by YAC aimed at the design of observation points for wild animals near the Djúpavogsflugvöllur runway.

Located in the intersection between earth, water and sky, the new architectures will have to echo the harmony of the landscape, while respecting its visibility, rhythms, morphology and atmosphere. They will, however, also have to represent the nest where adults can become again, even if for a limited time, children who observe, marvel and learn, turning into the bonding thread between the elusive beauty of nature and the simplicity of the human dimension.

YAC thanks all the designers who will take on this challenge.

Schedule
Early Bird Registration (€ 65 / team): September 8, 2025 – October 12, 2025
Standard Registration (€ 85 / team): October 13, 2025 – November 9, 2025
Late Registration (€ 115 / team): November 10, 2025 – December 7, 2025
Material Submission Deadline: December 10, 2025
Jury Summoning: December 14, 2025
Results Announcement: February 2, 2026

Jury
Simon Frommenwiler, HHF Architects
Dagur Eggertsson, Rintala Eggertsson Architects
Taro Okabe, Shigeru Ban Architects Europe
Lars Almgren, Dorte Mandrup
Bolle Tham Martin Videgård, Tham & Videgård Arkitekter

Prizes
1st Prize: € 8000
2nd Prize: € 4000
3rd Prize: € 2000

Gold Mention: € 500
Gold Mention: € 500

Honorable Mentions: 10
Finalist Mentions: 30

More information
www.youngarchitectscompetitions.com/open-competitions/abandoned-airport