You spent the month of February in Indianapolis developing your concept for a concession stand in 100 Acres. What were your impressions of the city, the IMA and the Park that led you to this particular design? As we stayed in town for a month we had the opportunity to delve deeper into what it’s like to be a Hoosier and also check out the surrounding area, including large parts of the Midwest. What struck us is that everything from nature is a bit bigger than in Europe, the plates of food are bigger; the meat tastes meatier; the agricultural fields are much wider; the trees are taller; and the storms are more aggressive. It’s a bit medieval and perhaps rawer, in a good sense. The same goes for the city of Indianapolis. It is raw and unsentimental, and is mostly famous for one of the toughest sports events of our time: the Indy 500. It’s a city without too much bullshit, and the same goes for Hoosiers; they get straight to the point and are very easy to get along with and work with. Because Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana, the IMA must be regarded as the primary museum of the region. So we wanted to make a project for all of Indiana, and as we wanted to make something local, we wanted to work with that rawness. So we started to look for the best raw materials for architecture that the state of Indiana could offer. Thanks to very helpful colleagues and the staff at the IMA, we had a variety of materials to choose from. These included Indiana limestone, agricultural products and so on. But what really caught our attention the most were the big trees in Indiana. The concession stand makes use of a single, 80+ foot yellow poplar tree. How did you decide upon this particular tree, and where did you find it? After presenting the idea of using a big tree, we got a tip to look at the yellow poplar tree (the state tree of Indiana), and it turned out to be magnificent raw material to start building a project around. The tree is quite fast growing for being so large, and has the advantage of not being so rotten in its core, which makes it very strong—almost like the perfect pillar or beam that’s been designed by nature itself. The museum hooked us up with a logger, and just a couple of days after presenting the idea we were standing in a forest outside Knightstown looking at trees fated to be chopped down. We found a very tall and straight, good-looking tree, so we decided to go for that one. The tree was cut down and brought to the Park this past June, and began its transformation into a structure that will be completed next summer. With the project unfolding in public, how do you hope Park visitors will experience Chop Stick as a work in progress? We hope they will experience the connection between all built things and nature. Nothing in this world is invented from scratch; it is all a mixture of nature in different constellations, and sometimes in architecture that connection is lost. One of our goals with being raw was to not get caught up in working with standardized materials. We wanted to get away from the menu of materials that architects often use and compose our own Indiana raw menu. We think that it can inspire people to realize that not everything in this world is fixed, and that it is sometimes much easier to make your own menu, looking for and appreciating beauty in everyday things.
Your design emphasizes the importance of using as many parts of the tree as possible. What are the ideas you are exploring for how to make best use of each part of the tree? When a tree is cut down to be used as building material, you seldom recognize the raw product when the project is finished. We wanted to take care of every part of the tree like a master chef handles his meat, and show where we took each piece, both as a respectful approach and an educational aspect of the project. When we started to research the yellow poplar we found many interesting things about it, which also proves how wonderful nature is. We found that you can make sturdy bark shingles that will last for 80 years, honey from the flowers, and a special tonic from the root and the bark, which the Native Americans have done throughout history. Native Americans came up many times during our research; they also took care of nature in a respectful way and used every part that they could. We then used basic knowledge about wood to decide from which parts of the tree we would make cuts; stronger wood that has a supporting and structural role in the project will come from the tree’s heartwood, and the façade material for the kiosk will come from the bark, which we are drying and pressing so it will last a long time. The swings and such that will be very visible will come from the outermost parts of the tree. So the tree’s unique shape will determine the surface details. The tables that will stand under and around the tree’s crown are cut from the wide base and will be absolutely beautiful. When Chop Stick is completed and open for business, how do you envision the life of the structure and the role it will play for park visitors? The tree will not last forever, probably about 15 years, but what is cool about this project is that we will be able to cut the tree on both sides of the kiosk, leaving a building that will last much longer. People will know and remember what was there when they see the cuts—a story to tell your grandchildren. visiondivision is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and was founded in 2005 by Anders Berensson and Ulf Mejergren. They have completed numerous projects throughout Sweden, as well as in The Netherlands, Mexico and Argentina. Past projects include an underwater habitat for crayfish (Cancer City, 2010), an addition to a villa for the client’s children featuring underground caves (Hill Hut, 2010), a fire-heated bathtub for a former welder in his favorite childhood creek (Cauldron Claw, 2009), gingerbread houses for Stockholm’s Arkitekturmuseet (2009), and a shrine built within a mountain for a mining community in Bolivia (Capilla para el Tio, 2008). visiondivision is one of the most widely published architecture firms in Europe, and is consistently mentioned on prominent design and architecture blogs all over the world.
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