Watch this poetic installation in Southern Finland dance with the elements

On the small island of Korpo in Southwest Finland, surrounded by forests and the Baltic Sea, sits Shiver House, a beautiful architectural installation that actually wasn't supposed to be there anymore. 

Designed by UK-based practice NEON and constructed out of Finnish airplane ply in 2015, the project was intended to be in-situ for only 4 months as part of Korpo's Barfotastigen exhibition. Due its overwhelming popularity, however, it was granted an extended lifespan and even attracted summer concerts as part of the Korpo Sea Jazz festival.

"Shiver House is a radical reinvention of the common Finnish Hut (mökki)," explains NEON's project description. "The project is a kinetic 'animal like' structure which 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."

"While the world is adjusting to the new reality of Covid-19, I feel that there needs to be a greater emphasis given to the way architecture, art, and design might be used as a means of reducing anxiety, connecting us with nature and bringing people together again in public spaces," Mark Nixon of NEON elaborates. 

"Shiver House’s architecture is in a constant state of transformation and ‘performs’ with the ever-changing flows of the wind, it is an ideal means of grounding people in the present moment."

Watch the installation in motion in the video below.