Shiver House

Shiver House was previously installed in 2015 as part of the Barfotastigen exhibition in Korppoo, Finland. The project was intended to be in-situ for 4 months but due to its popularity it was kept on-site on a longer-term basis. On the project’s second year, Korppoo - the island on which it sits, began hosting summer concerts next to the project as part of the renowned Jazz festival “Korppoo Sea Jazz”. A new edition has been created to celebrate the project’s 5-year anniversary constructed out of Finnish Airplane Ply.

Shiver House is a radical reinvention of the common Finnish Hut (mökki). The project is a kinetic “animal-like” structure that moves and adapts in response to surrounding natural forces. 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 and 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. The 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 Airplane Ply which has been soaked in a protective oil. The counterweight is constructed using a stainless-steel nut and bolt.

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.