Hasta La Ideas

An open fire welcomes visitors to this egg-shaped hut built by Danish studio SHJWorks on the edge of a Copenhagen park (+ slideshow).

SHJWorks, led by architect Simon Hjermind Jensen, built Fire Shelter 01 on a patch of wild land called Sydhavstippen in the southwest corner of the Danish capital.

The structure stands nearly five metres tall and has a hole in the top to let in light and let out smoke, plus two openings at the bottom for access.

The hut was constructed by bolting sheets of flexible plywood together through CNC-cut strips of white polycarbonate, which were inspired by seams in clothing.

The thin polycarbonate roof allows light to penetrate during the day, while at night it glows with light from the fire.

Visitors to the hut can take a seat on the long bench inside while tending the open fire.

Formerly a dumping ground for building materials, Sydhavstippen is now open to the public as a park and wildlife habitat.

“Walking around in the area is just amazing,” said Hjermid Jensen. “The ‘wild’ appearance of the nature on top of the building materials, which are visible in some places, makes you think of a ‘post-apocalyptic’ nature.”

Above: photograph by Christian Bøcker Sørensen

Hjermid Jensen did not have explicit permission to build the hut on the site. “The shelter is meant as a gift for the area and for those who wish to use it,” he explained, adding that he hopes it will remain in place for at least a year.

We recently featured a similar temporary hut in Kyoto made in tribute to a tiny 800-year-old dwelling.

Other projects in Copenhagen we’ve published recently include proposals for a series of artificial islands in the city’s harbour and an aquarium shaped like a whirlpool.

See all pavilions »
See all Danish architecture »

Photographs are by Simon Hjermid Jensen except where stated.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Fire Shelter: 01 is a personal project located at Sydhavnstippen in Copenhagen. The starting point for the design emerged from a fascination with the place. It’s a temporary project and a design experiment that wishes to celebrate the place. The project has public access and it establishes experiences of spatial and social character. In the creation of it, nobody has been asked for advice, neither has it been possible for anyone to give his or her opinion. It is simply thought of as a gift.

You can reach the location at Sydhavnstippen after a 20-minute bike ride from central Copenhagen. Sydhavnstippen was landfilled with building materials between 1945 and 1973. Before that it was a seabed. Since the landfill plants, bushes and trees have taken over the area, today it’s a habitat for a variety of animals. Walking around in the area is just amazing. The ‘wild’ appearance of the nature on top of the building materials, which are visible in some places, makes you think of a ‘post-apocalyptic’ nature. The often deserted area amplifies this.

The shelter takes inspiration from the architecture of ethnic and nomadic people. The shelter consists of one shape stretching for the sky. It has one hole in the top and two openings at the bottom. Plywood and polycarbonate are the main materials and all the different parts are fabricated using CNC technology. It is 4.7m tall and haves a diameter at ground level at 3.8m. The structural element of the shelter is the 2-9mm thick walls. The walls consist of thin and bendable shells which are tightened together with bolts and a piece of 2mm thick polycarbonate.

The bottom of the shelter is made of plywood and inside is a fire place surrounded by a bench. The bench is filled with building materials found on the site. This ballast secures the shelter to the ground without any kind of digging for foundations. The upper part of the shelter is in white transparent polycarbonate. The transparent ability allows daylight during the day, and after dusk the light from the fire will shine through the polycarbonate. This way the shelter brings back memories of old times lighthouses.

Besides being a design experiment, which tests the possibilities and structural solutions that digital fabrication is capable of giving, the shelter is meant as a gift for the area and for those who wish to use it. It’s about being in the company of good friends, in a fantastic place, around a fire during the dark time of the year. If bureaucracy had been taken into account, the project probably wouldn’t have happened. The wish to act independently was the desire to create a unique and specific project without being subject to any kind of compromises.

The shelter was designed, produced and paid for by the firm SHJWORKS. The assembly job, done without the use of ladders, was made possible assisted by Christian Bøcker Sørensen and others. Hopefully the shelter can stand for a year. SHJWORKS has a great respect for the value of the area, and we don’t think we jeopardise any of these values realising this project. The shelter is a temporary project and the day it’s gone it will leave no traces.

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SHJWorks appeared first on Dezeen.

In the last movie of our Seven Designers for Seven Dials series, designer Paul Cocksedge demonstrates what happened when passers-by called the floating illuminated phone number he installed for the project curated by Dezeen.

“What I’m inviting Londoners to do is to phone [the number] and as soon as it rings it begins to flash and you are in direct contact with the piece,” says Cocksedge.

While the installation was in place during last year’s London Design Festival, anyone could dial the number and the voice of actress Joanna Lumley would answer, inviting the caller to text “smile” to the five digit number that appeared from the original.

She explained that texting gives one pound to children’s charity Barnardo’s and when someone donated the lights changed again and a smile appeared.

Dezeen commissioned seven young designers to create seven installations to hang above the streets of Covent Garden during last year’s London Design Festival, and Cocksedge’s installation was located on Mercer Street.

This is the final movie in our series about Seven Designers for Seven Dials in which each designers describes their installation – see them all here.

Photography is by Mark Cocksedge.

The music featured in the movie is a song called Blue Sapphire by Remote Scenes. You can listen to the full track on Dezeen Music Project.

See all our stories about Paul Cocksedge »
See all more about Seven Designers for Seven Dials »
See all our coverage of London Design Festival 2012 »

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had no explanation” – Paul Cocksedge appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen archive: after publishing a herringbone-clad cinema in the south of France earlier this week (top right), we’ve filled our latest archive with all the unconventional cinemas featured on Dezeen. See all our stories about cinema design »

See all our archive stories »

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cinema design appeared first on Dezeen.

The first product to be released by furniture label Gustoff Graham the Ballard took shape through a self-imposed design constraint to develop a coffee..

Cologne 2013: Berlin-based product designer Daniel Becker has created a set of ceramic tiles that let stoves give off more heat.

The Berlin stove tiles by Daniel Becker Design Studio are decorated with a geometric dotted pattern.

The three-dimensional pattern increases the surface area of the tiles so that they lose heat faster, warming the room more effectively.

The tiles were developed with Kaufmann Keramik and Brunner Kachelöfen, German companies that specialise in stoves and fireplaces.

Becker’s tiles were shortlisted for the [D3] Contest for young designers at trade fair imm cologne, which was won by a wooden interlocking shelving system.

Other tiles we’ve featured on Dezeen include an art gallery covered in glazed black tiles and a collection of tiles that look like oxidised metals – see all tiles on Dezeen.

We’ve been reporting on other products at imm cologne, such as an asymmetrical desk and a storage box and mirror that hang from a leather strap – see all products launched in Cologne.

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Daniel Becker Design Studio appeared first on Dezeen.