“The brief here was to make something that would fit very well into nature” explains Thorsteinsson in the video interview, which was shot by Dezeen at White City House in London on the day of the AHEAD Europe ceremony. “We wanted basically to have continuity between nature, the interior and exterior,” he continued.

Design Group Italia chief design officer Sigurdur Thorsteinsson explains how The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland immerses guests in nature in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.

The 62-room resort hotel is embedded in the lava formations and turquoise geothermal pools of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon complex, which is situated within the UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland was awarded in the Resort Hotel category at the AHEAD Europe hospitality awards, which took place in London in November.

Design Group Italia handled the project’s interiors, in collaboration with Icelandic firm Basalt Architects who were responsible for the architecture of the resort.