Sunday, March 18, 2012

Spire








The church in the small town of Våler in Norway burned down and a competition was held to build a new one. We joined the competition with the following entry.

It is in the rural church that the people in a village is experiencing its most emotional
moments; this is where the kids run out on the last day of school, it is here you get married and it is here you bid farewell to your loved ones.
When the church in the village went up in flames, it meant that an important function and a prominent landmark disappeared, it left a void which in a small village Våler becomes particularly apparent.
You can however be positive about the new opportunity that has occurred; that a new church to be built and that the village gets a well-much needed addition to their identity.
We imagine a wooden Scandinavian country church that will be situated on the edge of the site and that will be clearly visible from all over town.


Promenade to church

Church in mist

Room Sequence
The church consists of two parts: the church room and a lower part that lies around a tranquil courtyard. The church has two entrances: one main entrance and a smaller entrance on the back for smaller events. When you enter via the main entrance, you enter a church square in a direct
connection with the church and with a courtyard view.
Here you reach the cloakroom, toilets and a vestry and further away in the building are the more private rooms located, like the priest's room, and showrooms, which you can access from the lower entrance to the back.
The rooms in this wing are functional in a row with a corridor which overlooks the quiet inner courtyard.
From all the rooms you have a view over the grove of trees that lies behind the church.

Priest's room


Site plan


Plan

The courtyard has a water mirror that parts the courtyard and almost all drainage of the house run down in the pond, which creates a small waterfall when it rains.

Courtyard

The nave is classically designed with a center aisle and the room can easily be divided for smaller gatherings. The idea is that although there is a small gathering, you still will experience the
finest room.

Church interior

The floors are an important part of the church and the rooms are defined by different woods and designs, more intricate for more impressive rooms.
The tower room, for example, has wide planks that follow the natural tree trunk angle and forming a radiating pattern from the center of the room.
Looking up in the church tower



Section and a diagram of the tallest churches in the world

The tower is the most important symbol of the church and it is here that the church is very different from other country churches. With a simple steel construction with wooden boards you get with a relatively small budget the world's highest church.
If the budget does not allow, so the height can be lowered considerably without losing its character and still become Scandinavia's tallest church, which now is Uppsala cathedral which was built about 1892 to a height of 118.7 meters.
The tower has small windows that go all the way to the crest and that let in light in the church room, and that spreads light around the countryside at night.
With a relatively simple approach Våler municipality can boast with a building that will both provide echo around the globe and revitalize the municipality and frame the many fond memories of the inhabitants of Våler.

The town of Våler


















Night exterior

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spröjs Castle



Spröjs Castle is the residence of choice for an opulent lifestyle where you can combine different modular towers into your very own magnum opus or chose from a premade composition that comes with the promise of excellence.
There are various layout possibilities of your castle that all have different advantages.
If you want to work with a small amount of towers but still want to achieve an impressive façade, build a long series of towers along an axis. This will work excellent if you approach the house from only one main direction, say with a lavish park in front of it.
If your house are seen from many directions and have many entry points, then why not go for a more compact look, where the verticality is the most significant visual tool.
If you invest in a great number of towers you can almost get a small Manhattan of your own.
Outclass your neighbour and become the talk of the town.

A Spröjs Castle in the morning mist

We have created a broad selection of towers; all with different floor plan sizes to suit your specific needs.
The smaller towers are perfect for the maid or the guests of the guests.
These have stairs or can be combined with smaller towers with a shared elevator between them.
As the scale of the towers increases, so does the comfort and the specific installations.
The spröjs have different characters depending on the tower size, from following the original dimensions seen on previous houses to becoming small rooms themselves and even greater rooms where your friends can move and put their old houses in.
One of the larger towers is exclusively a tower meant to show off for your friends, which will increase dramatically in numbers once you own a Spröjs Castle.


One of the show-off towers

A central, large elevator will slowly ascend through the different levels that are filled with awe; a shark aquarium for example, a statue collection, a private concert or maybe an exquisite library filled with rare and exclusive content.
Another big tower is the master bedroom tower that takes the art of sleeping to another level.
Thirty stacked bedroom levels, all furnished differently to avoid boredom.
There are also towers that have thirty stacked living rooms with different themes or thirty stacked toilets with different preferences.
You chose the limits for your excess, if you want thirty more toilets, just buy another tower.
Collect great things from all over the world, regardless of the size, have them flown over to one of your many helicopter pads. This is not just any home; this is a majestic mark that will outshine every private house on the market, you will simply know that you’re on top of the world and your lineage is forever secured, because once you own a Spröjs Castle, nothing else matters.
Collect friends and family in your house, invite friends of friends and their friends, there is room for everybody, create your own tower of Babel or Xanadu and reach for a heroic foot print in the history of mankind.
For more information please contact us at info@visiondivision.com.


Towers with built-in fountains for unrivaled extravaganza


A Spröjs Castle and a Spröjs Cabin


A living room tower


Become the master of your province


Special firework towers makes a bombastic welcome entrance


The world is more 3-dimensional than ever, your house has to look good even from the sky


How many houses from the Spröjs Series can you find in this image?


Some of the unfurnished tower layouts





A selection of castle configurations


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Spröjs Mansion


Spröjs Mansion front facade

Spröjs Mansion is a house for someone with a go for gold attitude. The house includes all good-life functions a person with assets and taste could beg for. The cellar contains a double garage connected to a wine cellar with an under water pool view. The first floor contains a spatial kitchen, living room and the main hall with double ceiling height if wanted. Two smaller outcrops on this floor contains on the kitchen side an orangery so the household always have fresh vegetables and fruits, and a relax room with sauna on the living room side.
The second floor holds two master bedrooms with connection to the pool via a trampoline and private balconies. The third floor resides a loft for guests or other use. The floor has a glass roof which is perfect for visitor’s lying in bed watching the sky or for an atelier space. Two towers penetrate the building; one is a chimney and the other one has a small view point where late drinks can be enjoyed.

The house has the form of a classic mansion but with a façade and program made for a fun and free life. The house contains several three dimensional movements with both stairs on the inside and outside of the house as well as ladders and diving-boards on the façade connecting the different levels of the house. To protect from overheating, the position of the glass panes varies in depth in the mullion and can be adapted to the specific site.
Contact us at info@visiondivision.com for more information or if you any other inquiries.


Spröjs Mansion Pool side view



Spröjs Mansion at night



Spröjs Mansion from side


Spröjs Mansion - diving board view



Spröjs Mansion - interior of main hall


Spröjs Mansion interior of garage & wine cellar


Spröjs Mansion interior of loft level


Entrance facade


Poolside facade


Gable facades




Plans of Spröjs Mansion