Cancer City / Visiondivision

Check out the latest project from our friends at Visiondivision.  Keeping true to their usual “un-traditional” projects, their Cancer City is an underwater metropolis for a crayfish community.  Upon being approached by a country gentleman whose 10,000 crayfish were slowly emigrating to a nearby lake outside his estate, Visiondivision responded with an idea to design a refugee for the crayfish to immigrate back to the man’s property.

More images and more about the new city after the break.

Examining the condition of the stream, the architects found that its lack of stones, hiding places and calcite, caused the crayfish to find a new home better suited to their needs.

So, for their new refuge, the design includes an undulated concrete landscape – the perfect spot for crayfish to live.  Constructed from Butong – a lightweight slightly transparent concrete invented by the firm with the same name – the landscape is a water resistant texture that can be molded to create the desired form.  Plus, it is only two centimeters in depth and does not require any metal reinforcement.  Butong is the perfect material for the new city as it also includes calcite –  a substance that attracts crayfish.

As the landscape dips and curves, the surface becomes quite hilly.  Each of these hills is topped with a protective lid, allowing the gentleman to walk across the landscape to capture his yearly crayfish quota.

In the evening time, when the crayfish are most active, a white path, which runs along the surface, and water proof LED lights that illuminate the hills give the hunter a better advantage to hunt.

“The exquisite concrete endeavour is now resting in the stream waiting for its inhabitants to arrive. Walking on the flawless craftsmanship just one week after inauguration we met one of the first inhabitants staring at us from its new nest,” added the architects.

Credits: Visiondivision through Anders Berensson & Ulf Mejergren

Butong: Lars Höglund & Benjamin Levy