Living among birds. Biosphere at Treehotel by BIG
08/07/2022.
[Harads] Sweden
metalocus, JAVIER ARIAS
metalocus, JAVIER ARIAS
Project description by BIG
Northern Sweden is known for its natural beauty, expansive forests, and distinctive biosphere. Strong climatic contrasts through the seasons have required highly resilient architectural types, incorporating the local materials of wood and stone. The Treehotel in Swedish Lapland is known for its broad variety of cabins, with each cabin having a distinct identity that reacts differently to the forest.
In close collaboration with Treehotel and Swedish ornithologist Ulf Öhman, the new BIG-designed hotel room Biosphere will bring 350 bird houses to the renowned hotel. Suspended in the Harads pines, BIG’s experiential design is the eighth hotel room on the property and seeks to enhance the surrounding biosphere.
By designing a treetop hotel room with a façade of bird nests, the aim of Biosphere is to decrease the downward spiral of the bird population in the Swedish woods and instead strengthen the biosphere and natural habitat.
“Inventories in Norrbotten County, carried out both by us as ornithologists and by the County Administrative Board, show that the number of different bird populations is decreasing. Forestry has led to a reduced number of natural holes in trees where breeding bird nests. The installation of bird nests is therefore an important measure to take. Furthermore, climate change leads to the insect boom happening earlier in the year, and by the time the birds’ eggs hatch, the boom has already passed. Feeding is an important support mechanism for the birds that stay in Northern Sweden and require food during winter. Demonstrating the use of bird nests and feeding, not just at the Treehotel but for people to install near their own homes, is valuable. An initiative from Treehotel to take such measures may inspire their visitors to do the same.”
Ulf Öhman, chairman of the Norrbotten Ornithological Association.
Biosphere is accessed via a suspended bridge that slopes from the ground to the top of the trees. The interior of the 34m2 hotel room incorporates rich dark interiors and organic materials inspired by the surrounding landscape, which further serve to reinforce the visitors’ gaze outwards and focus on the natural beauty of the surroundings.
The interior is simple and pragmatic, yet due to its checker solid-open conceptual make-up, allows for a range of experiences within a relatively small space. Visitors have access to a roof terrace – close to the treetop canopies – that offers 360-degree views of the forest. By varying the individual sizes of the bird nests and expanding them outwards, and based upon the bird type and frequency in the area, light is able to enter the interior space whilst maintaining the outwards views.
By wrapping the new hotel room in an ecological habitat, guests are provided with the opportunity to experience birdlife in close proximity and exist in the epicentre of nature unfolding. Surrounded by subtle bird songs – balanced by the exterior triple glazing façade – guests are provided with an intimate, immersive nature experience.
Bjarke Ingels (born in Copenhagen, 1974) studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and at the School of Architecture of Barcelona, obtaining his degree as an architect in 1998. He is the founder of the BIG architecture studio - (Bjarke Ingels Group), studio founded in 2005, after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 with his former partner Julien de Smedt, whom he met while working at the prestigious OMA studio in Rotterdam.
Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings worldwide, and currently his studio is based with venues in Copenhagen and New York. His projects include The Mountain, a residential complex in Copenhagen, and the innovative Danish Maritime Museum in Elsinore.
With the PLOT study, he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and with BIG he has received numerous awards such as the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Other prizes are the Culture Prize of the Crown Prince of Denmark in 2011; and Along with his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.
In 2018, Bjarke received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog granted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. He is a frequent public speaker and continues to give lectures at places such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street or the World Economic Forum. In 2018, Bjarke was appointed Chief Architectural Advisor by WeWork to advise and develop the design vision and language of the company for buildings, campuses and neighborhoods around the world.