Superstar

Entry for the White House Redux competition.

Synopsis: The story takes place in the early 70s when a young senator tries to convince the congress of the United States of America to build a new White House.His ideas are radical and looked upon with a great deal of scepticism and the congress rejects his proposal unanimously.
Humiliated and disappointed, the senator flees the country to look for inspiration and to understand the symbolic value of Architecture.
Will the senator give up his ideas or will he succeed in his battle against the narrow-minded congress?

Follow this young man's struggle in this visiondivision production that deals with the very inner core of architecture and ambition.

Power Up

Here comes an additional text with images to the video posted under the "Collection" post earlier this month;

Visiondivision got the comission to give 8 power plants in gothenburg a new identity.We gave them a collection of projects, ranging from a small scale to pharaoic wonders.

The biggest part of the commissions was to renovate one of the city’s major power plants; Sävenäs. The plant is today a collage of different non good looking building parts. Our sketches vary from low-cost solutions with a big effect, to a more iconic brave architecture.

The first sketch was to paint the whole thing blue, It would merge the different building parts into one major complex mass. The blue paint also fades from matt at the lower parts of the building to glossy in its highest parts.

At night different projections forms a moving story on how the power plant is functioning, following the story the viewer will see how wood is turned into energy and then see the waste products going up the chimney as water vapour.

To manifest that the smoke is actually just water, we propose to project dolphins and other sea animals in it. Projecting in the smoke also gives a big visual effect and can be seen from miles around.

We also had to do a more brave proposal, after all we are visiondivision. So we made a true iconic wonder; a digital volcano. The construction is rather simple; a net is draped over the whole building with LED-light, starting at the 100 m high chimney. The LED-device is also a solar cell, making the system energy-independent. Each one of the devices can change color and therefor can the volcano take any visual expression.

The power plant has a great exposure potential due to its strategic location next to the highway and the railway leading in and out of Gothenburg.Advertisment, concerts or maybe digital art? The options are endless and the company will have a media icon unseened of in this part of the world.

Sävenäs power plant has many employees that now will experience the net as a big roofwith a ever-changing repertoire of visual delights.

Plan: volcano net

The second part of the commission was to renovate seven smaller power plants in the suburbs of Gothenburg. Visiondivision made a list of improvements that would be cheap, quick and function separately from each other. The tree major design concepts were to clean up the surrounding areas of the plants, design more visible signs and to surprise visitors by adding something new to the context.

To add a new and more positive design to the plants we decided to upgrade the building parts with the most negative associations; the surrounding fences. By filling the fences with Plexiglass we created a thematic image that can be seen from a distance.Parts of the image could also be projected at the facades by putting headlamps in front of them.

Drawing : Plexiglass filled fence

Fanmail

A fan has accused us of copying the OMA villa; Anish Kapoor house.

According to him, Villa Sondefors has the same shape, the same layout of rooms, the same program and a swimming pool located at the same part of the house as the Anish Kapoor house. ( 0-1 VD – OMA)



Well, we have to admit that the houses have some striking similarities, however we had not seen the resemblances before you pointed them out. A major difference is of course that Villa Sondefors is actually hovering over the water whereas the Anish Kapoor house is not. (1-1 VD – OMA). Well the case is simple; just check out the dates and you see that Villa Sondefors is designed one year before the Anish Kapoor house (2-1 VD-OMA) which according to OMA is designed in 2006. So don’t worry man, visiondivision do not copy other architects at least not deliberately.

hmmm wait a minute could it not be the other way around? It is time for some detective work.

At the end of 2005 AB send his portfolio to OMA. The second page on that portfolio has actually Villa Sondefors on it made in 2005. When AB starts working in OMA in the spring of 2006, Anish Kapoor House has already been designed. AB sees the model of the house in the office without noticing the resemblances. But according to the dates, Anish Kapoor house must actually have been designed just after OMA received a presentation of Villa Sondefors. A lot of funny coincidences in the small world of architecture? Or does OMA borrow shamelessly from their intern’s portfolios? Who knows? (Probably 2 - 0 VD-OMA)

Well if OMA copy pasted visiondivision, we just want to say that we couldn’t care less. visiondivision is a humble architectural firm that cares for the older generation, and if an old artist wants to play our music, we are more then willingly to hand over the notes. The outcome of this could not be more satisfactory for the vd crew. Villa Sondefors was declined by the Swedish building comity for being too odd in a Swedish landscape, but now Villa Sondefors hopefully will have a sister building in Bahamas instead. What a great surprise! And what a big mistake of that Swedish municipality. Good Copying can sometimes be ok. Declining good architecture will always be a crime!
Final score:
1-0 Bahamas-Sweden.

Venice Biennale and the 2G magazine

We told ourselves that we had to be exhibited at the Biennale before we turned 30, or leave the dirty business of architecture to commence a hot dog salesmen career in Solna Centrum.
With three years to go, we are finally there; not in Solna Centrum, but in Venice.
So if you plan to visit the Biennle this fall, schedule an important stop where the vd project The Merchants of Venice is exhibited.
More info about exhibition dates will come up later on.



Until then, why not buy the September issue of the 2G Magazine, they will feature visiondivision in it too. We also have an upcoming exhibition in Barcelona later this year, the date is not fixed yet, so we will tell you later.

Now the two youngsters are both in Stockholm, gathering speed and force for an outstanding fall, with an upcoming total makeover of the slow http://www.visiondivision.com/ and a bunch of competition entries full of wit, character and pure beauty.

Collection

2008-08-28

visiondivision got the commission to visually refine the appearance of eight power plants on the west coast of Sweden. The vd crew decided to make a collection of different low-cost proposals with a big visual effect. We broadcast a part of this collection so that you fans out there can get a glimpse of the ongoing process to build a brave new world.

visiondivision goes Facebook

Now you can be a fan of visiondivision on Facebook, just search for visiondivision in the searchbar and show your support to our troops.
Every fan will of course get special treatment and discount in the vd shop.

Techos Azules

2008-07-31

Visiondivision gets the commission to design a hotel in Taganga, Colombia.



Taganga is a small fishing village set in a deep, beautiful bay on the Carribean coast in Colombia.
Except for fishing, tourism is a growing industry, attracting mainly backpackers from all over the world to relax and hangout in this tranquil environment.
50% of the workforce of Visiondivision was on a vacation to this enchanting place and ended up at a hotel called “Techos Azules” meaning “The Blue Roofs”, having its origin in the blue painted roofs of this cozy hotel, resembling a Greek hacienda of some sort.
After a casual talk with the owner it turned out that he wanted to expand his business with a new hotel on a site just behind the old one.
So we got a client on our vacation.




The site is rather steep, sloping down from a quite busy road down to the existing hotel.
The new hotel was also going to be called “Techos Azules”, making the concept of the plot quite easy. Following the Greek theme ,we decided to mimic a small intimate Greek village in different levels with a big hangout terrace; consisting of all the roofs of the hotelrooms and also down to a pool in different levels.



The terraces are all painted blue, making the experience soothing and relaxing and also following the obvious theme of the old hotel of course.
Infinite pool is yesterday's news, we wanted to create an infinite hotel.



If you see the hotel from the road it is all modern white with glass doors, making the blue surprise even more delightful.



Every room gets ocean view except one lucky guest that will get a pool view.

Classics

Check out some old classical VD projects like Rolling Culture, Stay, Big Bear, Noble Savage and a lot more sweet gems of architecture.
Just click on the archive of 2007 and they will pop up just for you.

The VD Guide - part II

The VD Guide - part II
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: visiondivision@gmail.com For more VD Guide >>> http://www.visiondivision.com/----------------------------------------

Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro -Powerful and beautiful church-

Birth: 1964

Location: Rio de Janeiro
Architect: Edgar Fonceca

Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro is the seat of the cardinal archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro. The current church was built between 1964 and 1979 and replaced a series of old churches that had served as cathedrals since 1676. It is located in the centre of the city. Conical in form and with a 96 metres internal diameter and an overall height of 75 metres, it has a standing-room capacity of 20,000 people.
The cathedral's four rectilinear stained glass windows soar 64 metres from floor to ceiling.

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Sossusvlei -Namibia dessert with the highest dunes in the world-
Birth: A long time ago
Location: Namibia
Architect: Wind and Ocean

Some of the spectacular hills of sand are, at a height of 300 metres, the highest in the world.

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La defense -An office building with a magic courtyard -

Birth: 2004

Location: Almere, Holland

Architect: UN-Studio

The exterior façade reflects the larger urban condition, while the interior façades of the courtyards have been designed with the office tenants in mind. These façades are clad with glass panels in which a multi- colored foil is integrated and, depending on the time of day and the angle of incidence, a variety of different colours are reflected, animating the courtyards

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lichtdom -A massive space of light-
Birth: 1920
Location: Nurnberg, Germany

Architect: Albert Speer

As part of their campaign to unify the German people behind Nazi ideals, Hitler enouraged his architects, especially Albert Speer, to create places for Germans to have what he termed "mass experiences." To do this, they created assembly halls, stadia, and assembly grounds where thousands could gather to display their patriotism and be edified by the speeches of party leaders. The most significant of these places was the Zeppelin Field at Nuremburg, where the Nazi Party held annual rallies celebrating the anniversaries of its formation in 1920 and the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. The Zeppelintribune was the centerpiece of the Nuremburg party monuments. It incorporated classical elements, but modified them to emphasize line, cleanliness, and order. From this building, Hitler and other party leaders gave speeches to assemblies of tens of thousands of germans. The most effective part of this assembly grounds was not the building, but the light. Speer surrounded the assembly area with hundreds of spotlights pointed skywards. The effect was to create a "cathedral of light," a Lichtdom, and its impact was tremendous.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ronchamp -A pilgrimage chapel and maybe the first postmodern building -
Birth: 1955
Location: Ronchamp, France

Architect: Le Corbusier

Ronchamp is a pilgrimage chapel, though on most days more frequented by architectural pilgrims than the intended variety. Situated on a hill above the village of Ronchamp, it is the latest of a long history of chapels on the site. Its predecessor was destroyed in fighting in the Second World War, though much of its stone is used in the walls of Le Corbusier's building.
The thick, curved walls - especially the buttress-shaped south wall - and the vast shell of the concrete roof give the building a massive, sculptural form. Small, brightly painted and apparently irregular windows punched in these thick walls give a dim but exciting light within the cool building, enhanced by further indirect light coming down the three light towers.
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Salar de Uyuni -The largest salt flat on earth-
Birth: A long time ago
Location: Uyuni, Bolivia

Architect: Earth

The Salar de Uyuni, a sea of salt, a salt desert, in southwestern Bolivia, was once an inland sea, or giantsalt water lake, but the water vanished into the thin dry air of Andean altitude. All that remains is the salt, tens of meters thick, lying stark beneath bright sky: a sun-bleached skeleton of a dead sea.

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The Sacred Mosque of Mecca -The holiest place on earth for the muslims-
Birth: 638 A.D

Location: Mecca

Architect: Various angels according to Islam

The Sacred Mosque, is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims turn towards while offering daily prayers and is considered to be the holiest place on Earth by Muslims. The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square meters including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 4 million worshippers during the Hajj period.Islamic tradition holds that the mosque was first built by the angels before the creation of mankind. The Black Stone is situated near the eastern corner of the Kaaba, and according to some people is believed to have 'fallen from heaven' and turned black due to man's misdeeds.
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The Chocolate Hills -Hill formations -
Birth: A long time ago
Location: Bohol, Philippines

Architect: Earth

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. It is composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres. They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.
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Iguazu Falls -The mightiest waterfall on earth -
Birth: A long time ago
Location: On the border between Brazil and Argentina
Architect: Earth

The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometres of the Iguazu River. Some of the individual falls are up to 82 metres in height, though the majority are about 64 metres. The Garganta del Diablo, a U-shaped 150-metre-wide and 700-metre-long cliff, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. At one point a person can stand and be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls. The Garganta do Diabo has water pouring into it from three sides.

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Casa del Puente -A house over a stream-
Birth: 1942
Location: Mar del Plata, Argentina

Architect: Amancio Williams

An elegant single-story exposed concrete house in the seaside town of Mar del Plata, it was built in 1942 by Amancio Williams for his father. Supported by a sweeping arch over a stream, the house was innovative for its free plan, fenestration and daring use of materials. Now a national
landmark, sadly it is currently in very poor condition.

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White and Pink Terraces -An office building with a magic courtyard -
Birth: A long time ago Death: 1886
Location: New Zeeland

Architect: The Earth

They were known as the eighth wonder of the world - glistening pink and white terraces of silica, created by the warmth from the centre of the earth.Cascading into the remote Lake Rotomahana, people from all over the world travelled by steam ship, then horse and cart, a two-hour canoe journey and finally on foot to see nature’s masterpiece.In 1886, the terraces were destroyed when Mt Tarawera erupted, devastating most of the surrounding landscape, and killing more than 150 people.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waitomo Caves -A cave with luminous worms -
Birth: A long time ago
Location: Waitomo, New Zeeland

Architect: The glow worm

The caves are mostly famous for the hundreds of thousands glow worms who live in them. These worms create a astonishing sight, that may be described as a sky full of bright blue stars. It is possible to see glow worms in other places in New Zealand, but there is no doubt that in no other place the sight is as beautiful as in Waitomo.
The caves are also famous for the underground river that allows travelers to take a boat to view the worms.

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The Money Bin -A vault for the richest duck on the planet-
Birth: 1902

Location: Duckburg
Architect: Don Rosa & Carl Barks

The Money Bin was built in 1902, shortly after Scrooge entered the diamond market and could no longer sleep at night because all the money he was storing under his mattress raised his bed too close to the ceiling, necessitating a more suitable storage facility for his money. His favorite pastime is to dive off a board into his money and swim through it.
The Money Bin is a twelve story skyscraper and a vault filled with three cubic acres of money and sits atop Futterman's Fault, a fault line which would prove catastrophic in the event of an earthquake.
Well, the concept and the sensation of swimming around in money is pure genious.

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Dom Bosco -A church with a nice effect -
Birth: 1970
Location: Brasilia, Brazil

Architect: Carlos Alberto Naves

There are 80 16m-high columns in Brise-Soleil closing in Gothic style, with stained-glass windows in 12 shades of blue, symbolizing a starry sky. The central luster by Alvimar Moreira contains 7.400 Murano glasses and 180 lamps weighing 2.600 kg.

A talk with Mr T

2008-06-15

During our field trip to the biggest salt flat in the world, we stumbled across an old acquaintance that we hadn't seen for a very long time.

Mr. T is also an architect, He is the boss for the T-rex alliance, actually the first architect the vd-crew ever cooperated with, Due to Mr. T’s sad attitude towards architecture and architects in general, the cooperation ended quite quickly. Anyway it is not often we meet old friends in Bolivia so we began to discuss architecture and future challenges.

Mr. T= Mr T-rex alliance, UM = Ulf Mejergren, AB= Anders Berensson

Mr. T

So what the hell are you two doing in Bolivia?

UM

Well, now were on a fieldtrip and a couple a days ago we did a project for a mining cooperative in Potosi.

Mr. T

Yeah, I saw that project, the highest located piece of architecture in the world I guess, quite alright, well my Space Mirror would be way higher located than your cave and way cooler but Ill guess you didn’t count unbuilt projects even though they’re on a high intellectual level. The devil in your cave looked a little bit cheap though, but what can you expect in this part of the world, no craftsmanship what so ever.

AB

Well we had one of the best sculptures in Bolivia to do the Tio. but sadly he could not accomplish the mission, so a local talent finished the work. Well the Tio is a detail that can be easily replaced, the important thing is the cave.

Mr. T

And now what are you up to, some more local projects?

AB

Well, this South American field trip is over for my part anyway.

It is time to go home and take care of some new clients that we just got.

Mr. T

Yeah? Is it big?

AB

Could be a huge commission, but we can't talk about it at this point, but your definitely going to like it Mr. T.

Mr. T

So you're going back to Sweden then AB?

AB

Well, New York, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Svalbard and then I will see. The northern hemisphere needs visiondivision right now.

Mr. T

Svalbard Nice, I have some friends there actually.

And you UM are you not going back?

UM

I'm heading to Colombia to do some research in the jungle, and I will be back in Sweden in a couple of months.

Mr. T

Colombia and Svalbard, not too bad.

I saw that Niemeyer thing you did. Niemeyer is ok but hardly as good as I am. What about showing your blog-viewers some real top-notch architecture, some of the projects that I have done.

UM

Well..

Mr. T

Actually it wasn't a question.

AB

Ok, tell us about your projects then.

Mr. T

Ok, this first project is called bird invasion.

"A huge traffic knot in the middle of nowhere, next to a small town on the west coast of Sweden that wanted to change this strange place into something that could inspire the drivers and maybe let them realize that the big salty ocean was just a small detour from there.

A giant highway exit near a small village at the west coast of Sweden takes up a lot of space. The politicians in the village wants to make the great exit something special, maybe something to remind the bypassing cars of the nearby sea. A fragrance of fish is the key to the project, seagulls will invade the area and fill up the great vast emptiness with animal life."

Well, this is another version of the same project, which I find more interesting as well.

"Birds navigate themselves with the help from the magnetic field of earth.
What if we altered this magnet field and borrowed some birds sometimes, to cheer up our rather dull country with color and exotic sounds.

A huge magnet is buried under the highway, attracting flamingos from all over the world to invade this no-mans land."

This is another of my projects, The Sun Mirror.

Its very simple, its like satellites that is mirror clad that you can hire so you don't have to worry about bad weather at your garden parties.

This next project is called Animal Speed Evolution.

Human evolution has been helped a lot of the fact that the human being got more spare time when she discovered devices that could help her in every day life; more efficient ways to gather and store food and so on.
So why not help the animals to get more spare time, so that they can have more time to think and maybe evolve a sense of imagination. An extreme speed evolution.

Now comes a project I did with you fellows, P.O.P;

"Today the technology is that advanced that we can crossbreed different species to get the benefits from these, combined into one that suits the purpose better than the original one. Imagine for example if we can combine the genes of a watermelon with a corn. "

"To give the corn the size, the water resistance and the possibility to grow alone as the watermelon has, combined with the unique qualities of the corn to
instantly blow up its size by approximately 125 times and that it is lightweight and insulated in this popcorn state. "

"In many rural areas in the developing world this could turn out to be a huge success, a house, a food source, or a valuable item to sell.
A high-tech material that can be grown in an old-school manner by anyone."

"In countries where building material is a lack this could be a perfect solution to grow it directly on the spot. As well as it could be quickly used in emergency situation such as natural catastrophes, famine and poverty all over the world."

The manipulated corn can be produced on the site and due to its size it can easily be transported. When it’s on location the locale people make up a fire around it,

".. which with the time makes it explode to become a temporary home for a small family that also is 100% totally recyclable and ecological. Each house will get a unique shape and the rooms can easily be dug/eaten out due to the requests."

Ok, so here is the Crater Of Peace that also was done with you guys;

FUCK THE PYRAMIDS, HERE COMES THE CRATER OF PEACE

Mere scale can overwhelm you, but also a great purpose and meaning, brave history or supreme beauty.
All these factors together can take your breath away and make your heart skip a beat.
We present: THE FINAL MONUMENT
Big monuments are often built after great victories or as a manifestation of a great achievement.
We can ask ourselves how great the victory for humankind would be if all the bombs would go away and the declaration of a lasting world peace was proclaimed.
We propose that all the bombs in the world could make a monument; a crater immense in scale and meaning, to reminisce these juvenile and immature periods of warfare in human evolution and be sure that it never will happen again, and later on be filled with pleasure, beauty and joy.

The plot:
A perfect circle with the measure of 150km in diameter is laid out over the South Pole,
Every country with an army takes turns to drop their remaining bombs over the circle until there no longer would exist any heavy weapons in the world.
After the dust has settled and the necessary handling of the remnant pollution from the bombs is taken care of, a unique place has been created.
The crater would be 30km deep, going deep into the crust of the earth to create a warm temperature down at the bottom.
Now we have a span from arctic coldness at the rim of the crater to an almost tropical situation in the lower level.
In the middle of the ground level a circle of 10km is formed and raised to make this place an island when the bottom naturally gets water filled.
This island will be a tropical resort, filled with all pleasures known to mankind.
The money you save on warfare will be put into various vacations for the people on Earth to this paradise.
On the slopes of the crater, a whole eco-system is designed with all plants in the world and also various animals of every species, like a great Ark.
Polar bears and penguins (finally together) in the upper parts of the slope, Reindeer, buffaloes, wild horses, rabbits, llamas, coyotes, ostriches, hippos, camels makes a gradient of animals down to the bottom.
The variety of this place is enormous; trekking, skiing, partying, and relaxing in the enormous pool with warm water all year around, even winter time when the South Pole lies in darkness all day.
This does of course not stop the resort and the slopes to be lit up even then, because of the waterpower that can be accumulated from a fall of 30 km.
The resort would connect the world and bring people from different cultures closer to each other in a relaxing atmosphere in a neutral zone with unmatched scenery and activity program.
Quite opposite to all the wars that shattered and distanced the mankind for so long, but now Babylon is rebuilt in a much more grandeur form and setting.

UM

Interesting projects my friend, but what’s up with that caricature you did of that Swedish architecture firm?

Mr. T

I couldn't help it, I mean, look at them! (Due to legal matters we can't show the image)

AB

Yes, maybe you got a point. After all, burning bridges is one of your specialties.

So what do you do nowadays, I heard you fired all of your staff?

Mr. T

Yeah, no point working with idiots, and I work like 10 people so I don't need any staff at the moment.

Well on the subject of idiots, So tired of that house in Spain you were about to design, I mean how many more sketches will you do until that ........ is satisfied?

AB

Cool down big guy! A vd client is never an idiot. They wanted something that was not visiondivision and we hope they find what they’re looking for.

Mr. T

Now that was a very correct answer mr Dag Hammarskjöld. Anyway, can't you publish your old projects at the blog as well ,every time I try to log on to http://www.visiondivision.com/ it takes ages for my Bolivian internet to load everything. Not that I look at your page everyday or so, just thought about everyone else.

UM

Yeah, we might do that.

Mr. T

So what new material can we expect from you in a near future?

UM

Well, we got a really nice project that we will publish as soon as the jury of that competition announces the winners.

We will also publish the Tio-video quite soon and the second part of the VD-Guide.

AB

And we will also present some new commission in a couple of weeks.

We will also soon have a realized project that we will show you when it is finished, you're going to be amazed.

Mr. T

Yeah yeah yeah.

It seems like 2008 is going to be a good year for you guys.

How many people work for you now?

AB

Hmm.. hard to say, it varies a lot, with our imaginary friends around 50 I suppose.

Mr. T

Ok, guys, I'm hungry, got to split.

You will be hearing more from me!

UM

Ok, see you later Mr. T

AB

Good luck with everything!

Mr. T

Yeah yeah yeah.