D E S C R I P T I O N
TEXT FROM C3 282: +mobile - Rhm Architects
Parsons The New School for Design, Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Sweden and St. Etienne School of Art and Design in France participated in a year-long collaboration sponsored by Formen Hus (House of Design), a new design museum and research center located in Hälefors, Sweden, is a design and construct seasonal, flat-pack dwellings on a former industrial railway bridge over the Black River in Sweden.
When Hälefors, a Swedish town located in the heart of the countryside, lost it main source of economic sustenance with the closing of a steel manufacturing plant, the municipality Began its reinvention as a destination for the study of design and culinary arts. As a step toward this significant_coeff_flag transformation, Formens Hus opened in November, 2005. Sponsored by the municipality, the Swedish Society for Crafts and Design, and the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation, Formen Hus Organizes conferences, design education programs for children, and an intensive one -year program that designers prepare for graduate school.
In need of temporary housing for designers, Scholars and other visitors, Formen Hus and Parsons The New School for Design-following a successful academic project in 2005-Discussed a second collaboration is a design and construct seasonal dwellings on a former industrial railway bridge over the Black River, Which runs through Hälefors.
This site would offer visitors a reminder of the town's industrial heritage, while the new dwellings would serve as a model for the imaginative reuse of infrastructure isnt to other local Institutions and community-centered initia-. St. Etienne School of Art and Design in France and Konstfack University College of Arts, Craft and Design in Sweden were invited this join this collaboration.
From the outset, These Institutions set in place two Guiding Principles. In Accordance with a shared commitment is sustainability, the structures would be built from local materials and utilize resources available in the community.
Secondly, Extending Formen Hus' vision of learning through design, the project would not only serve as an educational experience for the Participating students, but would engage the local community in its fabrication, use and life cycle.
Taking inspiration from the traditional Swedish cabin or friggebod, in September 2005 Began the students process of designing a series of seasonal dwellings with built-in and modular furnishings occupants That could configure Their liking it. These dwellings would be designed as a kit of parts that could accommodate be packaged for retail or deployed in Circumstances of natural or manmade disasters. Working with this basic program and site Requirements, each school developed preliminary design concepts and in the spring of 2006, all three schools Convened at Formen Hus Their share ideas and Collaborate on the ultimate design: a series of structures on moveable tracks.
Parsons and St. Etienne students each were charged with designing a sleeping / living compartment That can be configured together or apart. Konstfack students would design a kit of Provisions Including power supplies, additional furnishings, and other products to enhance These environments. Parsons faculty member Robert Kirkbride and service compartment designed, constructed by Parsons students on site, Which Combines kitchen and bathroom facilities and also serves as a docking station for the entire structure during the winter months.
