Archi-Ninja interview

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The VD Guide VI

Visiondivision gives you a brief tour of inspiring projects and phenomenon around the world.If you have more suggestions, dont hesitate to contact us at: info@visiondivision.com For more VD Guide >>> http://www.visiondivision.com/

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Maho Beach - A tropical beach with jumbojet's landing a couple of metres from you
Birth: 1970s
Location: Maho Beach, St Maarten/St Martin

Architect: Unknown
VD says: Beauty and danger is always a great combo.

Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico. The island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles; it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations.

The island is served by many major airlines that bring in large jet aircrafts, including Boeing 747's and Airbus A340's carrying tourists from across the world on a daily basis. The short length of the main runway at Princess Juliana International Airport, and its position between a large hill and a beach causes some spectacular approaches.

Aviation photographers flock to the airport to capture pictures of large jets just a couple of metres above sunbathers on Maho Beach.

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The Tiger Temple - A sanctuary for tigers overseen by thai monks

Birth: 1999

Location: Thailand
Architect: Thai monks
VD says: Our wildlife heart loves these kind of things.

The Tiger Temple was founded in 1994 as a forest monastery and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. According to the abbot and others associated with the temple, in 1999, the temple received the first tiger cub, it had been found by villagers and died soon after. The story goes that several tiger cubs were later given to the temple over time, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers. As of 2007, over 21 cubs have been born at the temple and the total number of tigers is about 12 adult tigers and 4 cubs.
They spend most of the time in cages, being fed with cooked chicken, beef and dry cat food. The meat is boiled to avoid giving the tigers a taste for blood. The tigers are washed and handled by Thai monks, and once a day they are walked on leashes to a nearby quarry. Originally they would roam around freely in this area but now, with the increase in visitors and the amount of tigers who sit in the canyon, they are chained for safety reasons.

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The Marsh Arabs - Outcasts in an Iraqui swamp

Birth: Thousand years ago or so
Location: Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border.

Architect: The Marsh Arabs

VD says: They live in a malaria infested swamp shared with wolves, which Saddam Hussein later tried to drain, causing one of the worst ecological disasters on planet Earth, but still manage to create architecture with flair.

The Marsh Arabs (Maadan) has developed a unique culture centred around the marshes' natural resources.
Most Marsh Arabs lives in arched reed houses. The typical dwelling is usually a little more than 2 meters wide, about 6 meters long, and a little less than three meters high, and was either constructed at the waterside or on an artificial island of reeds called a kibasha; a more permanent island of layered reeds and mud was called a dibin. Houses had entrances at both ends and a screen in the middle; one end was used as a dwelling and the other end was used to shelter animals in bad weather. The marsh environment meant that certain diseases, such as bilharzia and malaria, were endemic; Maadani agriculture and homes were also vulnerable to periodic droughts and flooding.
After the people of the marshes rose against Saddam Hussein, he began drying the marshes by channeling water away from them and directly into the Shatt el Arab. Most of the inhabitants were killed or fled to Iran, so that only 40,000 of the original 250,000 to 500,000 people remained. In the first four years, Saddam drained 60 percent of the marsh; today only 7 percent remains.
According to a report made by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2001, the marshlands that once covered between 5,800 and 7,700 square miles now comprised just 386 square miles. UNEP ranked the destruction of the marsh with the desiccation of the Aral Sea and the deforestation of the Amazon as one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

But the Marsh Arabs continues to live their lives.

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Sanjieliu (or 'Human's Masterpiece Cooperated with the God')- Immense show with the surrounding landscape as its stage
Birth: 2004
Location: Li River, China

Architect: The Sanjieliu team
VD says: Great concept, great effort!

This is the world largest natural theater which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage, with twelve mist shrouded hills and the heavens as its backdrop. Mist, rain, moonlight, the hills and their inverted reflections in the river all become the ever-changing natural background. Its auditorium is housed on the natural islands of the river with the audience standing on the designed terraces, surrounded by green plants. The sound equipment here cannot be seen because it is in harmony with the natural environment. The valleys, the hills, the cool breeze and the streams are all elements contributing to the three-dimensional sound effect. Day by day, different weather offers different sceneries with the four seasons refreshing the performance as well, so you will have unique experience every time you watch it. The creators call this humbly- 'Human's Masterpiece Cooperated with the God'.
The performance is divided into seven chapters including the preface and epilogue. Each chapter has its own colors and effects. The peformance lasts for 70 minutes and 600 plus actors and actress are involved．

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Maijishan - A temple complex incorporated with a mountain
Birth: 4th century
Location: Gansu Province, China
Architect: Various dynasties
VD says: Another of mankinds early showoffs, we like it.

Located Southeast of Tianshyui City in Gansu Province on a 142 meters high hill named Maijishan, meaning "Wheat-pile Hill". Work on the grottoes started in the late 4th century and continued through successive dynasties until the 19th century. There are 194 existing caves, in which are preserved more than 7,000 sculptures made of terra cotta and over 1,000 square meters of murals. Earthquakes, rain and fire have damaged a large part of the caves and wooden structures. But still worth a visit!

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Egyptian Pigeon Towers - A tower for cultivating pigeons
Birth: ancient times

Location: Egypt, USA

Architect: Egptian farmers
VD says: Building structures for animals is or favorite topic.

Pigeon towers are very common in the Egyptian country side and goes way back into ancient times. They are homes for pigeons to live and roam freely. Pots and pipes are cemented together in horizontal layers with some of them opening to the outside of the tower and others to the inside. Inside the tower there is either a ladder or a stairway by means of which the owner can climb up to claim the squabs (young feathered pigeons who are not yet flying) to confine them and fatten them up for eating. Pigeon is eaten stuffed with either rice or whole wheat or it is grilled or made into casseroles. They are a dark meat bird and very tasty. Most pigeons that have any colour plumage other than the feral dark greyish blue (the wild rock dove) are owned by someone in Egypt because they are so easy to raise.

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Setenil de las Bodegas - A town with a complex physical connection with the surrounding cliffs.

Birth: around 13th century
Location: Setenil, Span

Architect: Unknown
VD says: Fascinating

Named after its once flourishing wineries - bodegas - Setenil is probably unique among the pueblos blancos,white villages, of Andalucia. Where most pueblos blancos were built on protective bluffs and pinnacles, this town grew out of a network of caves in the cliffs above the rio Trejo north-west of Ronda. Its blinding white houses seem to emerge from the rocks, and some have rock roofs and even olive groves on their roofs.

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Lake Moraine - Picture perfect lake with a high grizzly activity

Birth: A long time ago

Location: Alberta, Canada

Architect: Earth

VD says: Probably our favourite remote Canadian lake

Moraine Lake is a glacially fed lake in Banff National Park, 14 kilometres outside the Village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately 1,885 m. The lake has a surface area of 0.5 square kilometres.
The lake, being glacially fed, does not reach its crest until mid to late June. When it is full, it reflects a distinct shade of blue. The color is due to the refraction of light off the rock flour deposited in the lake on a continual basis.
Moraine Lake is well known for the multitude of grizzlies that inhabit the surrounding valley. For this reason, the park may require you to hike in groups of six, and may occasionally close off trails completely.

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Mirny Diamond Mine - A man made hole of immense proportions

Birth: 1955-

Location: Mirny, Russia

Architect: Russian Mining Corporation
VD says: Enormous excavations are always interesting, especially this one.

The Mirny Diamond Mine, which operated from 1955 through 2004, is one of the world's largest mines. The mine is so deep that the surrounding air zone is closed for helicopters after a few accidents when they were sucked in by downward air flow. It would take a truck two hours to drive from the bottom of the mine to the lip.

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Maison à Bordeaux - Modern masterpiece villa

Birth: 1998

Location: Bordeaux, France
Architect: OMA

VD says: One of the greatest villas in modern time

"A couple lived in a very old, beautiful house in Bordeaux. They wanted a new house, maybe, a very simple house. They were looking at different architects.Then, the husband had a car accident. He almost died, but he survived. Now he needs a wheelchair.Two years later, the couple began to think about the house again. Now the new house could liberate the husband from the prison that their old house and the medieval city had become."Contrary to what you would expect” he told the architect, "I do not want a simple house. I want a complex house, because the house will define my world...”. They bought a mountain with panoramic view over the city. The architect proposed a house - or actually three houses on top of each other.The lowest one was cave-like - a series of caverns carved out from the hill for the most intimate life of the family.The highest house was divided in a house for the couple and a house for the children. The most important house was almost invisible, sandwiched in-between: a glass room - half inside, half outside - for living. The man had his own «room», or rather «station». A lift, 3 by 3.5 m. that moved freely between the 3 houses; changing plan and performance when it "locked” into one of the floors or floated above. A single «wall» intersected each house, next to the elevator. It contained everything the husband might need - books, artwork and in the cellar, wine...The movement of the elevator changed each time the architecture of the house. A machine was its heart."

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Hotel Panorama - Hotel with bigger floor plans the higher up you go

Birth: 1965
Location: Strbske, Slovakia
Architect: Zdenek Rihak
VD says: Simple but with a strong concept.

Hotel Panorama is located in the village of Strbske Pleso, which is formed around the biggest tarn on the slovak side of the Vysoke Tatry Mountains. The hotel is adjacent to the train and bus station, and the lake alike. Hotel Panorama is built over a valley, so many of the rooms have a wonderful view on the High and Low Tatras.

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Varanasi - One of the oldest and strangest settlements in the world.

Birth: A long time ago
Location: Varanasi
Architect: Lord Shiva

VD says: A constant religious manifestation, an epic waterfront.

Varanasi (or Benares, Banaras, Kashi), on the left bank of the Ganges, is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. It is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, according to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva, around 5,000 years ago. Mark Twain wrote: "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

Varanasi has the finest (religious) river frontage in India, with miles of ghats (steps) for bathing; an array of shrines, temples, and palaces rises tier on tier from the bank. More than a million pilgrims visit each year; many hope to die there in old age.

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Oil Rocks (Neft Daşları) - A series of oil platforms interlinked as a town with 5.000 inhabitants

Birth: 1947

Location: Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan

Architect: Soviet and Azerbaijan
VD says: Dystopic Water world like. Cool and tough as hell.

The Oil Rocks is a full town on the sea, it was the first oil platform in Azerbaijan and it was built in 1947 as an exercise of Soviet and Azeri ambition. The Oil Rocks lies 45-50 km offshore on the Caspian Sea and the most distinctive feature of the Oil Rocks is that it is actually a functional city with a population of about 5,000 and over 200 km of streets built on piles of dirt and landfill. Most of the inhabitants work on shifts; a week on Oil Rocks followed by a week on the shore. The small city includes shops, school and a library.
The facility is poorly maintained, with miles of roads now submerged beneath the sea. Around some worker's dormitories, the waterline now stands at the second-floor windows. Although a full one-third of the Oil Rocks complex's 600 wells are inoperative or inaccessible, operations have continued without a significant increase in investment. The site, despite its imperfections, still produces over half of the total crude oil output of Azerbaijan.

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The Richat Structure - Unique circular formation in the Sahara desert

Birth: A long time ago

Location: near Ouadane, Mauritania

Architect: Earth

VD says: Places like these makes our planet more fascinating.

The Richat Structure has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it forms a conspicuous bull's-eye in the otherwise rather featureless expanse of the desert. The structure, which has a diameter of almost 50 kilometres, has become a landmark for space shuttle crews.
Initially interpreted as a meteorite impact structure because of its high degree of circularity, it is now thought to be a symmetrical uplift that has been laid bare by erosion.

Cover Up

This project is a part of a bigger commission to improve several power plants for an energy company.

In this first stage we we’re appointed to create a storage facility for various industrial pipes but foremost for several heating containers that with a short notice should be able to be outsourced around the city as back-up power during blackouts. The containers are quite big and are lifted from the storage with a special crane truck, making a roof impossible. Additional future containers should also be considered in the scheme, which called for a shelter with the flexibility of an anaconda stomach.

The surrounding area is industrial and quite rough and the company has had some problems with break in and vandalizing which also had to be taken into account. But the major issue was the fact that the present depot looked miserable and they wanted a neat looking package to encapsulate their bits and pieces.
So we made a good looking, roofless, safe and flexible-as-an-anaconda building.

The part of the structure that faces the surrounding is slightly higher and rigid and is also functioning as a wall to the premise. The inner part is not so high because these wall systems should be able to be altered and movable.

We made three modes with different area sizes with the help of pre-made holes in the ground which the walls on the flexible part of the structure could switch between when necessary. Some wall segments are also gates.

Plans of the different modes

The whole façade is made out of perforated steel plates.

The inner part of the structure is perforated in a mathematical and repetitive fashion to minimize wind loads, permit views into the storage without experience the clutter.

On the rigid part that is facing the surroundings, we perforated a grand motive with a story that is weaving in the energy company, the city and different world natures into a surrealistic “total nature”. This nature is actually also a disguise.
Different building details and devices are hidden in the motive; the main door for example is disguised in a forest, with the keyhole in one eye of a bear. Various surveillance cameras are hidden behind different creatures; for example behind the watchful eyes of a tiger in a mountainous setting, in the deep gaze of the founder of the city, Karl IX, in the bewildered look of a picnic lady from the great Swedish painter Carl Larsson.

From the savanna motive, water taps are inserted in the end of elephant trunks, to clean the façade if necessary.
A rainwater collector from the inside of the storage leaps out through a pipe that makes the horse of King IX urinate. To gentle the smell of the containers somewhat, we put canisters of air fresheners amid some butterflies and flowers in the painting.

Detail drawings

The motive is quite vast but during daytime the façade will hardly be visible unless you stand close to it, making it neat, white and clean. As the sun sets however, the colored lights that lit up selected parts of the motive will transform the building into a huge glowing painting, giving the passing cars on the nearby highway some inspiration along the way and the pedestrians a wondrous object in the anonymous and harsh industrial surroundings.

The project is still under evaluation, we will let you know when we have more information.

New office mail

Hi there!
If you are a client, publisher, collaborator or want to send an application to visiondivision; you should use our new office mail: info@visiondivision.com.
Mail accounts has also been set up to each one of the two young talents.
ab@visiondivision.com for Anders Berensson and um@visiondivision.com for Ulf Mejergren.
As a reminder we made you a poster that you can print out.
Be well!

Meet Pete

visiondivision went to the jungle of Thailand to meet one of their clients; a young man called Pete. After a quick observation of his present home and village to gain a deeper understanding for our new design, we had a business dinner and agreed to become his architects. He smiled at us and said that he had great expectations of the outcome.

Construction starts next week, and we hope that he won't be disappointed.

Summer Break

The summer is here and visiondivision will take a well deserved break from business for a couple of weeks to hang out with all their animal friends.
Meanwhile, Felipe from Corumba, Brazil will be in charge for the supervision of the office.
I, Clive Jenkins, will check the mail on a daily basis, so if you have any questions or if you are a journalist that wants high-res images of any project for publications, I will gladly provide you with these.
You can expect a lot of good news and progress from the two talents when they return, as they continue to rise to the upper echelon of Architecture.
Have a nice summer dear friends!
/Mr Jenkins


The two young talents on Lake Titicaca

BBC Gardens Illustrated baby

BBC Gardens Illustrated is a highly respected international magazine, read in over 70 countries worldwide.

If you are fortunate enough to live in any of these countries, you can pick up the June issue and read about visiondivision's Rapid Palace.

Premiere bath at the Cauldron Claw

The Nordic winter has finally subdued in the North of Sweden and turned the landscape around the Cauldron Claw into a lush and paradisesque environment.

We therefore went to the North once again to finish the bath with a steel aqueduct with medicinal plants growing on it, to give the bath an even more soothing experience for aching bodies as the water trickles through this pharmacy of nature and in to the cauldron where we witnessed the old man take his premiere bath.

Ski Jumper

Visiondivision gets the commission to develop the surrounding landscape of the classic Stockholm ski jumping tower Fiskartorpet. The projects contains a terrace for outdoor sports, conferences and events plus an outdoor gym in the nearby forest.

The terrace will bee seen both from the ground, the conference rooms and from the top of the Ski jumping tower. The 200 m2 wooden deck could appear quite empty when not used. So a natural choice was to continue a tradition on Fiskartorpet to graffiti walls with Ski jumpers. This graffiti is however made with a milling machine cutting out a 200 square meter picture of a Ski jumper. The motive also shapes a cantilevering walkway and a outdoor conference room in the slope.

Outdoor terrace - day

Outdoor terrace - night, lit up with different colors.

The outdoor gym is made by big logs and then painted in shiny green paint giving it a refined Fred Flintstone feeling.

The green shiny machines is placed like furniture in the forest.

Drawings outdoor gym

If everything goes accordingly to plan this little string of pearls will be built this summer, and Stockholm will get its first public visiondivision project.

Nazca view

Employee of the month

Clive Jenkins



Mr Jenkins is a sturdy employee that also functions as the spokesperson for visiondivision among a lot of other things.
He joined the team in 2006 and is now a part of the vd family.
He has a long and impressing background in administration and public relations from different organizations in his motherland USA and he is the bedrock and the lighthouse of visiondivision.
We are very grateful to have this great man among us and we hope that we will have many fruitful years ahead of us.

You can click on to www.visiondivision.com and under the extra section, you can see Mr Jenkins answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the vd crew.