The President of Iceland's Innovation Award was presented at a ceremony in Bessastaðir yesterday, January 20, 2026. The award is given to students who have done outstanding work in solving projects funded by the Student Innovation Fund in 2025. The fund's board of directors selected six outstanding projects for nomination, two of which are prepared by students of the Iceland University of the Arts. One of them is the research and innovation project Material worlds which Bjarki Þór Wíum Sveinsson and Gísli Hrafn Magnússon worked on, but they are students at the department of architecture of LHÍ. The project CONNECT also received a nomination, where Janek Beau, Max Greiner, Katla Taylor and Tumi Valdimarsson were working, but they are all students in the master's program at the department of design of LHÍ.

The Research and Innovation Project Material worlds discusses building materials in Iceland in a historical, cultural and ecological context. The project addresses the real challenges of the construction industry, such as a high carbon footprint, high import needs and a broken relationship with local material tradition. The goal is to bring that knowledge back into the present and open new ways to more sustainable and local civil engineering. Material worlds is based on a mixed methodology where field trips, interviews, workshops and environmental analyzes are intertwined with historical data and information about material experiments that have been carried out in Iceland. The project not only examines the opportunities, but also clearly highlights the thresholds that stand in the way of increased use of Icelandic building materials, whether they lie in regulations, lack of knowledge, infrastructure or accepted attitudes. The project was carried out by Bjarki Þór Wím Magnússon students in architecture at LHÍ. The instructors were Anna Kristín Karlsdóttir at Lúdika Architects.

The Innovation Project Connect based on the use of backwater heating in the public interest.

 

The project was created from the idea that excess geothermal energy could be restored and transformed into a resource for the local community The project aims to use the energy that goes to waste and direct it into public space by creating units, heated benches that invite people to sit down, rest and connect with each other. Connect wants to be the stop along the way, the place that gives you a little motivation to go for a walk - even a meeting place, so to speak. By transforming what used to be waste into a common resource, Link shows how innovation and environmental responsibility can go together. The result is a vision of the future for Reykjavík where the warmth is felt not only indoors but also in the city's streets and squares, where it brings people together and enlivates public spaces during the coldest months of the year. The project was carried out by Janek Beau, Max Greiner, Katla Taylor and Tuma Valdsa students in Design, Environment and challenges at LHÍir.

We sincerely congratulate the students on their nominations!