BIG has partnered with experimental clothing brand Vollebak to create the vision for a self-sufficient off-grid island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The 11-acre Vollebak Island will receive several pavilions built of natural and innovative materials such as seaweed, hempcrete, and 3D-printed concrete, all powered by carbon-neutral energy. The island, located in Jeddore Harbor, one quarter off the Nova Scotia mainland, will be auctioned via Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions beginning June 8. Bidders will vie for the chance to own the island and to be granted exclusive rights to the design vision, including the planning permission for those designs.
The Vollebak Island will include the Earth House, a 597-square-meters structure comprised of nine interconnected buildings, and the Wood House, an 88-square-meters structure with a standalone garden suite on the island shoreline. A combination of offshore wind, geothermal and solar-generated energy will power the structures on the island, with excess energy to be stored in Tesla power walls. This ensures that all energetic needs of the island can be met in a carbon-neutral manner.
The Earth House is envisioned as a village-like cluster of buildings rising gently from the ground in the middle of the island. The permeable layout is designed to encourage socialization and allow nature to intertwine with architecture. Each building represents a different fragment of nature reflected in the dominant material used. The living and dining areas, the main gathering spaces for eating and relaxing on the island, are made of weather-resistant and insulating thatch. The four bedrooms are created with fire-retardant hempcrete, 3D-printed concrete, and natural boulders. A serios od additional facilities complete the program of the Earth House, including a Japanese-style bath, stargazing room, and meditation spaces.
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ICON and BIG Reveal Design for El Cosmico, a 3D-Printed Campground Hotel in Marfa, TexasA greenhouse made of glass bricks will provide a local source for food on the island, while the boat house will take inspiration from the local tradition of using seaweed as an insulation material. Complementing the Earth House, the Wood House will feature a standalone two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence made entirely of wood from the island. The monolithic façade opens towards the seaside via an eight-meter triangular window.
Vollebak is using technology and material innovation to create clothes that are as sustainable and resilient as they are beautiful. In other words, the fashion equivalent of BIG's architectural philosophy of Hedonistic Sustainability. For Vollebak Island, we have imagined the rooms as a manmade mount of individual volumes rising out of the ground and a separate outpost at the edge of the breaking waves. Each room in the village is made from its own unique material – stacked seaweed, compacted earth, hemp, glass brick or locally sourced stone – tailored for the specific use and experience of that particular room. For Vollebak Island, we incorporate local tradition elevated by global innovation in a self-sustained manmade ecosystem off the coast of Canada. - Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director of BIG
Recently, BIG announced a collaboration with ICON, the office that pioneered large-scale 3D printing, to design an experimental 3D-printed campground hotel in Marfa, Texas. BIG has also been selected as one of the five finalists for the design of the new United States Navy Museum. Together with William Rawn Associates, and EOA Architects, the internationally renown office has also been selected to design a new performance house for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
