Revitalizing Iceland’s Stöng Ruins: Heritage Meets Contemporary Architecture

Set within the stark volcanic expanse of Þjórsárdalur in southern Iceland, the Stöng Ruins stand as one of the country’s most important archaeological treasures. Excavated in 1939 and safeguarded since 1957 under a modest protective shelter, this Viking-era longhouse represents a rare and remarkably complete example of early Icelandic domestic architecture. In 2024, SP(R)INT STUDIO undertook a sensitive reinterpretation and restoration of Stöng, balancing heritage preservation with contemporary architectural intervention.

Rather than replacing the historic structure, the project extends and transforms it, maintaining the original longhouse as the focal point while enhancing its interaction with the surrounding landscape. The 1957 shelter is retained and thoughtfully re-clad in sustainably sourced larch, complementing a lightweight translucent polycarbonate roof that hovers above the excavations. This careful material strategy, combined with restrained detailing and a muted color palette, establishes a design language that emphasizes atmosphere, spatial clarity, and temporality.

Architecture here functions as a bridge—mediating between ruin and shelter, past and present, nature and culture. The intervention is deliberately understated, allowing the original longhouse to assert its historical presence while the new structures guide visitors through the site without overwhelming it. The building aligns with the natural topography of the valley, revealing its contours and integrating seamlessly with the landscape rather than dominating it.

New public infrastructure, including pedestrian pathways, bridges, and seating areas, choreographs visitor movement and frames key views of the ruins. The design ensures minimal impact on the fragile terrain, presenting a continuous spatial sequence that encourages engagement with both the archaeological site and the surrounding natural environment. The new entrance, elevated slightly above ground level, acts as a transitional threshold, leading visitors onto an interior platform suspended above the excavations for an unobstructed historical overview. Interior volumes remain open and airy, protecting the ruins from erosion, rainfall, and volcanic ash while framing interpretive sightlines through precisely positioned windows and roof apertures.

This restoration treats heritage preservation as an act of architectural calibration rather than reconstruction. The original shelter is respected as a cultural artifact, its lifespan extended through adaptation instead of replacement. By doing so, the project positions restoration as a process of continuity, reengagement, and evolving understanding rather than closure.

All photographs are works of Claudio Parada Nunes