Lava tiles

Lava fields cover large areas in Iceland. They are often rugged and impossible to cross, but occasionally the hot running lava is solidified into a big smooth surface reminiscent of a grand cathedral floor. It is a fascinating material in all its variety. Tinna likes to grasp this wild material and force it into geometrical shapes, which can then be used as a paving material. The lava tiles quickly get colonised by moss and other vegetation. The lava tiles have the size 40x40x2 cm and are made of Icelandic lava.

Iceland has a high concentration of active volcanoes due to its location on the mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary, and also due to its location over a hot spot. The island has 30 active volcanic systems, of which 13 have erupted since the settlement of Iceland in AD 874. Of these 30 volcanic systems, the most active/volatile is Grímsvötn. Over the past 500 years, Iceland’s volcanoes have erupted a third of the total global lava output. Tinna Gunnardóttir is a conceptual designer located in Reykjavík, Iceland. She is a part of the directory board of Product Design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts.