Nature's Choice

Visiondivision got the commission to build a vacation house for two families in the north of Sweden. The plot is situated within a beautiful coastal area that has been included on the world heritage list due to its outstanding land uplift geology which is the most progressive on earth.
The site itself has two levels; the upper one is a patch of beautiful untouched wood and the lower one is a rocky meadow with a rather steep cliff that connects the two plateaus.
Due to plot’s protective status, the family wanted a house that would blend in with the surroundings.
On the site lies also an old bunker which was constructed to prevent a potential invasion from the Russians. The bunker also had to be discreet when built, but used the underground to disguise itself.
We saw three potential alternatives for this site which we wanted to explore; either a wooden house set amidst the forest or a stone house that lies in close connection with the rock outcrops.
There is also a third alternative that is a little bit trickier to achieve; a house that should blend in with two different types of natures.
The three different variations are related to each other when it comes to the layout of the plans and the outer perimeter of custom made bearing pillars that imitates the surrounding nature.


The three variations, wood, stone and mixed, axonometric view

The forest house consists of two mirrored units with a separating wall in the middle that can easily be folded away when having family reunions.
One enters in to a small hallway and thereafter into a kitchen with a dining table and a living room further in to the room.
A fire place stands in the centre along the wall that separates the housing units.
When the wall is folded away, one gets a twice as big living room with a large central fire place.
The columns slant a little bit, becoming somewhat smaller at the top.
They also vary slightly in size to resemble tree trunks. Some of the columns are strictly structural while the bigger also functions as wardrobes and such, especially in the bedrooms.
The result becomes a light and welcoming house that merges with the forest and that is highly flexible with its folding wall.


Forest house, exterior


Forest house, interior


Forest house - axonometric view


Forest house, plans and facade

The boulder house has also two mirrored units with a separating wall in the middle that can be folded away.
Two piles of boulders on the forest plateau conceal two stairs that leads down to each living room. The roof is covered with grass to blend in with the nature.
Taking the stairs down, one faces a fire place as first impression.
When the separating wall is removed the families will get a quite impressing dining area with two fire places flanking the dinner table, a place worthy a medieval king.
The columns are much heavier set than the forest house to mimic the massive boulders on the site.
These pillars are mostly hollow, creating great storage space for the families.
Some of the pillars are also carved out becoming alcoves where one can sit.
The result of this variation is a rustic and homey feel.
The house is almost invisible from the forest and integrates well with the rocky meadow.


Boulder house, exterior


Boulder house, interior


Boulder house, axonometric view


Boulder house, plans and facade

The third house leaves a smaller footprint and has two floors.
The house is also based on our tailored pillar system, wide at its base and slender at its top that also fades from stone to wood.
The columns cause the two stories to become completely different even though they are based on the same plan. With different material treatments on the two levels, we enhance the differences even further.
The heavier set columns on the first floor create a cavernous and comfortable feeling with a lot of niches and a high contrast between dark and light. As with the boulder house, some of the columns are hollow and have various functions like wardrobes, furniture and storage. The flooring is made out of stone and continues out on a terrace overlooking the bay.
The upper floor with the more slender columns blends in with the surrounding tree trunks behind it and have large windows with great views of the scenic cove.
The result becomes an exciting house that has two completely different floors with two completely different perceptions.
One family can for example live on the boulder floor one year and the year after switch to the forest floor.


Mixed house, exterior


Mixed house, close up


Mixed house, axonometric view


Mixed house, plans and facade

Slim Rack

Slim Rack outside ECDC entrance

Visiondivision was commissioned to design a bike rack for the surrounding area of ECDC (European Centre of Disease prevention and Control) in Stockholm. To create an option that could compete with all the slightly boring looking pre-made bike racks, we designed a very slim, easy-to-produce module based on simple craftsmanship that can be multiplied in various options and also be adapted to the beautiful surroundings of the site.

Often do the pre-made average bike-racks come in one piece and the roof comes in another, thus not very well integrated with each other. This causes a rather clumsy product with a redundant material utilization.
Another problem is that the racks are designed with the idea that it could stand anywhere, which in reality means that it doesn’t fit perfectly anywhere.
By involving the craftsmanship aspect of our module system we can more easily
adapt to more complex situations and perform with an aesthetic that the campus demand.

The module has three functions; it should provide support to your bike and a possibility to lock it to the construction, it should also provide a roof. The design became a slim steel column that shapes itself after the requested functions. When two columns are placed back to back it becomes a Slim Rack. The Slim Racks are then placed in triangular shapes that can be multiplied in various combinations, making it adaptable to various sites at the ECDC Campus.

Since we put all functions into one pillar we could reduce unnecessary building mass. We could also produce a very slim construction since the length between different building parts becomes quite short. A single module needs only a thickness of 15 mm. Putting these two features together we end up with a very light construction that blends in by being thin and in some angles almost invisible. To make the construction even more invisible and adaptable to various situations the Slim Rack is painted in the same colour as the houses it is standing next to.


Slim Rack outside ECDC entrance


Two bent steel beams is welded together to a Slim Rack


The Slim Racks are welded together; U-profiles are locking the construction and holding the glass roof together


The racks can be produced in various shapes


Slim Rack detail


Details of extra function Slim Racks

The Slim Rack also served for some extra functions that were asked for in the project brief. The rack ís bended in the same manner to hold a small table, an ashtray and a garbage can for outdoor coffee breaks.


Facade of Slim Racks outside the main building


Facade of Slim Racks outside an annex

Storm Flipper

Competition entry for a new drinking fountain prototype in the parks of London.

The concept is quite simple; an image of bad weather is turned upside down and creates a very strong icon for a drinking fountain.




The overturned umbrella acts as the water basin, the raindrops as its structural support as well as water pipes and the cloud as its base.
A lightning coming from the cloud lights up during the night.
Rainy weather is a very suitable symbol for both a drinking fountain and the city of London and will surely attract many thirsty park visitors
around the city to quench their thirst.

Construction
Vertical metal pipes with drops mounted on them are holding the structure. The dimension of the pipes is changing depending on function, making the outer ones constructive pipes and also the water pipe is a bit thicker due to factors as vandalism. The sink is made of plastic that is later painted in various combinations. The base is cast and polished concrete with drilled holes for assembling the pipes underneath the base.
Materials can be altered after consultation depending on cost and durability.





There are an endless assortment of patterns and colours for umbrellas and no matter how they look they are still unmistakable recognized as umbrellas. The drinking fountains can therefore be carried out in a great variety as well, without losing its familiarity as an object.
The different styles can be chosen according to the various parks location and image and the result will be a great number of different drinking fountains that comes from the same module.
The bad weather module can also be done in a divided edition and can thus be wall mounted. There is also the possibility to sponsor some of the modules, just like corporate umbrellas.
Many thanks to our Colombian friend Andres Morelli for the renders.

100 000

100 000 brilliant architecture conoisseurs from all over the globe has now visited our website and hopefully found some inspiration among our many projects and adventures. We would like to thank you for your visits and the countless e-mails that hearten our organization to continue our ceaseless struggle in the field. According to Wikipedia the respectable sum of 100 000 equals a field army, thus giving us the feeling that we have achieved the incorruptable rank of Generals of brave and gifted architecture.

“It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Noah's House

A client wanted help to build a small summer house inside of an old shed at an island in the northern Stockholm archipelago. The shed is just next to the Baltic Sea and has been exposed to overflows every tenth year or so. Knowing that the house probably will be hit by another overflow and the fact that we were only allowed to build inside the shed forced a specific design.

To build a totally waterproof house would be too expensive, so this house is constructed as a lizard’s tail. If one part of the building gets exposed to water that particular part can easily be replaced without affecting the rest of the building.
The whole building is constructed by spruce boards and spruce pillars and with no synthetic materials in its lower regions. The horizontal spruce boards can be taken away when exposed to water to dry and later be put back or be replaced by new ones. The house is insulated like a hat to not be affected by an overflow. The electric parts of the house are also put in the higher regions of the house and will not be affected by an extreme overflow.
Since the client mostly spends his time there during the summer, we also had to come up with a warning system if the water levels have been reaching the construction underneath the floor and need to be ventilated during overflow season, which is usually at spring time. The warning system became a rising totem pole where the face changes its mood depending on how high the water level has reached underneath the house.




Since the shed was too slanted we could not rely on its structure and had to build a totally new house inside. To get as much space as possible we tried to build as close as possible to the old structure, giving the floor plan a long niche along one of the walls where we decided to put a battery of functions. The battery consists of a small kitchenette, a storage space and an expandable bunk bed which is all constructed out of spruce boards as well. One positive outcome of that is that you have the best view in the house from the bed so you can fall asleep watching the bay’s midsummer sunset. The only change to the existing façade is the big window and a wooden terrace with a outhouse on it towards the see and a new entrance door, hardly exposing the building’s new function which gives a pleasant surprise for visitors.




Plan

Section with an overflow chart


Function battery drawing

We did not design what furniture that would be put into the house but since the house will be occupied by lots of people with a sailing and surf interest we made a back wall filled with wooden hangers. Since a lot of the stuff that will be hanging on that wall will have sail and surf aesthetics
We made wall lamps using Nixon masks “Point Break” style to match all of those gadgets.


Nixon lamp


Assembly of the overflow warning system


Overflow warningsystem test


Early construction photo


Carving the totem pole

Architectural Model & Staging Space

Two new architecture books are now out in stores featuring some of the capacious project flora of visiondivision.
The Korean "Architectural Model" includes several prodigious models made by the enthusiastic team and the German "Staging Space" includes the remarkable Hill Hut.