Wawona Tree Tunnel

The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park. It had a height of 69 m and was 27 m in circumference. A tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, enlarging an existing fire scar. Two men were paid $75 for the job. The tree had a slight lean, which increased when the tunnel was completed. The tree eventually became a popular tourist attraction. Often travellers would come to have their picture taken either driving through it or standing underneath the tree. Throughout its history thousands of pictures were taken of it by tourists; it was photographed accommodating everything from horse-drawn carriages in the late nineteenth century to automobiles in the 1960s. The Wawona Tree fell in 1969 under an estimated two-ton load of snow on its crown. The giant sequoia is estimated to have been 2,300 years old.

Swedish Granary (from Skansen)

When people from abroad that are interested in architecture comes and visit us, they usually asks if we can recommend any piece they should see while staying in Stockholm. Well, truthfully there are not so much yet, at least not any modern delights, but there is always Skansen; a collection of old typical houses from around Sweden that is located within a zoo with Swedish animals. Some of the sights include a Sami storage house that stands on wooden stilts with the roots still on the wood thus stabilizing the whole house on the ground. Quite spectacular.

Glaumbaer Houses

The Icelandic turf houses was the product of a difficult climate, offering superior insulation compared to buildings solely made of wood or stone, and the relative difficulty in obtaining other construction materials in sufficient quantities. Iceland was fully forested when it was settled (save the mountains and highlands), with forests of birch trees. Oak was the preferred timber for building Norse halls in Scandinavia, but native birch had to serve as the primary framing material on the remote island. However, Iceland did have a large amount of turf that was suitable for construction. Some structures in Norway had turf roofs, so the notion of using this as a building material wasn't alien to many settlers. Then in the late 18th century a new style started to gain momentum, the burstabær, with its wooden ends. This is the most commonly depicted version of the Icelandic turf houses and many such survived well into the 20th century. This style was then slowly replaced with the urban building style of wooden house clothed in corrugated iron It is too difficult to erect large structures of turf and sod. Therefore the Icelandic farm was a complex of small, separate buildings. The most used of those were united by a central corridor, but tool and storehouses could only be accessed from outside. The corridor at Glaumbaer is about 21m long and provides access to 9 of the 13 houses of the farm. Two intermediate doors along the corridor in addition to the front door kept cold from penetrating the living quarters.

Stump House

Westerlund, a Swedish immigrant, who back in Sweden had worked as a cabinet-maker, took on the task of hollowing out one particularly robust (22-foot-diameter) cedar-tree stump, and Gustav finished up by putting a roof, window, and door on the stump house. A stovepipe through that roof hints at the woodstove inside that kept the family warm for a few months until a conventional house was built nearby. Even after they moved into that new home, Westerlund maintained his quarters in the stump as he liked the independence and privacy it provided. A newspaper visited the house in 1901: "Inside it is one good-sized room, which is boarded up and neatly papered and made as comfortable as any apartment could possibly be made. The walls inside slant inward at the top, which gives one the impression rather that it is an upstairs room, otherwise it is not different from any other room."

The Fang Waterfall

Ice climbers flock to The Fang in Vail, Colorado. The enormous ice pillar forms from the cascading waterfall only on exceptionally cold winters, and when it does the column can measure up to 50 meters high and has been known to have a base measuring 8 meters wide.

Owambo Villages

A traditional Owambo homestead was a large maze of wooden fences surrounding a group of round wood huts with thatched roofs and sand floors, each of which served a different purpose (bedrooms, grain storage, kitchen, social quarters, etc.)

Moses Bridge

From the architect. The West Brabant Water Line is a defense-line consisting of a series of fortresses and cities with inundation areas in the south-west of the Netherlands. It dates from the 17th century but fell into disrepair in the 19th century. When the water line was finally restored, an access bridge across the the moat of one of the fortresses, Fort de Roovere, was needed. This fort now has a new, recreational function and lies on several routes for cycling and hiking. It is, of course, highly improper to build bridges across the moats of defense works, especially on the side of the fortress the enemy was expected to appear on. That's why we designed an invisible bridge. Its construction is entirely made of wood, waterproofed with EPDM foil. The bridge lies like a trench in the fortress and the moat, shaped to blend in with the outlines of the landscape. The bridge can't be seen from a distance because the ground and the water come all the way up to its edge. When you get closer, the fortress opens up to you through a narrow trench. You can then walk up to its gates like Moses on the water.

Forest Retreat

From the architect. Our client contacted us with an idea to create a hideaway in the countryside where he could “hole up” and gather strength for his demanding work in Prague. We set off into an area between Central and South Bohemia where he comes from and where he has loved going to since his childhood. He took us to a spot in the midst of fields, woods and meadows, full of strange boulders, to a remote and somewhat forgotten place. The magic landscape together with the client’s aim won our hearts immediately. After a short hesitation, we decided to build the “forest retreat” (as we called it later) together by our own hands. The building material was given: the base was wood from a nearby forest, for the rest we utilized local sources and skills of local craftsmen. We designed a compact enclosed volume – an object resting freely on boulders with a stern raised on a huge boulder. The enclosed black object made of charred wood contains one interconnected space with the dimensions of 3.1m x 5.8 m. In the entering part is a flat platform with headroom just for a standing person; this part is opened by a large glassed-in surface offering the view. The remaining part of the object rises gradually towards another opening, facing the tree crowns. And there is a unique place for resting. Each step can be used as sleeping place. Under them, there is storage space; turning one of the benches over creates another double bed. Multifunctional space is suitable not only for dwelling but also smaller events, performances or just meditation. Both glassed-in openings can be closed by big shutters, the bigger one by a pulley and a hand winch. The basic supporting framework of the forest retreat is a joist construction which emerged from the cooperation with local carpenters. The outside is covered with charred boards with rabbet joints. The wood for boards and joists was taken from fallen trees from the owner’s land. The inside of the construction is coated with OSB boards in order to reinforce it and also with respect to the low price. The roof is covered by two layers of asphalt belts. The drainage of roof is secured by a steel L profile, placed obliquely, which serves at the same time as a rail for attaching the idler pulley wheel. All steel components were prepared according to our documentation by a blacksmith from a nearby village. The building was assembled during a few extended weekends between the autumn 2012 and the spring 2013.

Villa Mecklin

Villa Mecklin is located in the Finnish archipelago. It sits in a small depressions in the rock, its sheltered terrace extending over the summit of the rock. In connection with the shoreline sauna, there is also a stove-heated cabin for guests. The building materials selected for Villa Mecklin are uncontrived, basic ones suited for the archipelago. All wood surfaces have been left untreated and will turn grey naturally. The Villa was built in 2008. The floor area of the villa is 70m2 and the sauna is 20m2.