Can knowledge from past Icelandic cement production become a spark for new solutions? Freyr Jónsson, a master's student in architecture at Iceland University of the Arts, is researching the possibility of reviving cement production in the country. The project has received a grant from the Master's Student Fund of the Research Center for Creative Industries (RSSG) for the year 2026.
Freyr Jónsson's research addresses a topic closely related to Icelandic architectural history and the built environment: cement. In this project, he focuses on the possibility of restarting Icelandic cement production and explores how knowledge and past experience can be utilized in the search for new methods.
Something new will be created from what is already there.
In the RSSG's discussion, Freyr Jónsson's research is placed in the context of questions about the preservation of knowledgear and innovation. It looks at how what has already been done and the knowledge that has been created can create a foundation for new opportunities. This approach fits well with Freyr Jónsson's research. Instead of looking solely to the future, it looks at past production in Iceland and asks what can be learned from it and what possibilities lie in re-examining it.
The research is also connected to larger questions within architecture about the materials, production, and context of the built environment. The Iceland University of the Arts architecture program emphasizes research on the meaning, scope, and role of architecture in society.
Two grant recipients, different topics
Freyr Jónsson is one of two recipients of the RSSG 2026 Master's Scholarship featured in the interview. The other recipient is Iðunn Jónsdóttir, who researches how performance art becomes part of a collection. Although their research topics are different, they share a focus on how we preserve þekkingu and experience and how it can become a source of new þekkingu and innovation.