London-based design studio NEON has unveiled its latest project entitled Shiver House as part of this year’s Barfotastigen exhibition in Korppoo, Finland. Shiver House is a radical reinvention of the common Finnish Hut (mökki). The project is a kinetic “animal like” structure which moves and adapts in response to surrounding natural forces.
The Shiver House is an exploration into the idea that architecture can be used as a means to create a closer emotional link between its inhabitants and the natural world it sits within. In addition the project explores the idea that architecture can be made to seem “alive” with the intention that this will engender a deeper and longer lasting emotional relationship between people the structures we inhabit.
The house employs the use of 600 kinetic counter-weighted shingles which respond to the changing weather conditions of the site. Wind, rain and snow cause the shingles to rotate into a closed position giving the structure the temporary appearance and function of a shelter.
Shiver HouseThe Shiver House is constantly transforming between being a functional shelter and a poetic and experiential device. Users that sit within the structure can observe the ever changing environment as they watch the kinetic shingles modulate the internal light levels as well as views out to the surrounding landscape.
The project is constructed using a simple timber structure which supports a number of rows of tensioned steel wire. These steel wires are treated as batons and are designed to hold the counterweighted shingles. The shingles are constructed using a folded and cut polypropylene sheet with a stainless steel nut and bolt counterweight.
Conceptually, the piece suggests that Architecture, rather than static and function-led can be a poetic, living and dynamic element which changes the way we relate to the landscape that surrounds us.
all images and video courtesy of NEON