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Project 05

BOIS ROUGE            

<sub>SLINGERVÃGEN
HALLAND, SUÈDE


An architecture deeply rooted in the soil, drawing its nourishment from the rich earth. An outdoor space that demands the same attention as the interior. Everything is about organization and geometry in this natural environment.

The existing structures are renovated and will serve as living spaces. The new buildings will fulfill the program's requirements, and their volumes will define the spatial structure of this large complex.</sub>

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_{The red color that adorns farms and houses in Sweden, and is also found in North America, comes from pigments derived from the extraction of copper in a famous, now-closed mine called the Falun Mine, located in the central part of the country. This paint has been applied to buildings since the 17th century and serves to protect the wood and extend its longevity.}

Madame A. and Monsieur. B. met at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is Danish, he is Swedish. Love at first sight led them to question what they had learned in school and imagine a unique and experimental farm.

They initially settled on Mr. B.'s parents' farm. Throughout their lives, his parents had produced high-quality wheat that supplied a vodka distillery located not far away in the neighboring region of Scania. However, Mr. B. and Mrs. A. decided to break away from this established pattern and ventured into crafting artisanal vodka. They completely rethought the cultivation of rye and potatoes, leading to a small-scale production. Although they faced initial challenges, they persevered, and gradually, their vodka gained recognition and was exported.

Paradoxically, their foray into vodka production led them to explore other crops and harvesting techniques. Mr. B. diversified production, infusing their vodka with flavors such as birch, cedar nuts, rowanberry, or pepper. Mrs. A. established a laboratory on the farm itself, integrating research and innovation into their production methods.

The farm's botanical palette expanded. The fields surrounding the farm took on the appearance of meadows, with wheat intermingling with spelt, peas, faba beans, vetch, and purple wheat. Through their diversity, these crops enriched the soil. In new greenhouses, they grew colorful vegetables. In the summer, flowers covered the red wooden buildings and nestled among the rows of fruit trees. Livestock made its appearance as well, with dairy cows providing creamy milk for a delightful cheese.

Their farm resembled those children's books where the universe is plural and complementary. It was a self-contained food chain that reintroduced a lost pillar of agriculture: autonomy.

However, as often happens when passion overflows, space became problematic and insufficient. Their farm had become cramped, and nothing seemed suitable for their scale. Constrained, the young couple lacked the necessary space to cultivate their ideas and unleash their genius. The beautiful narrative around their project lost its meaning in this spatial organization that brought confusion. The overall setup appeared chaotic, far from their philosophy.

Thanks to their laboratory, they secured funding and benefited from an innovation program subsidized by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. They then acquired a small farm nearby. Its buildings were modest and dilapidated, but the land was vast.

Here, the challenge was to translate their energy and vision into efficient and bold architecture.