UMA makes fir bark hut from beetle damaged trees
Ulf Meyergren Architects (UMA) builds the Spruce Bark Hut from its layers barkcollected in a forest affected by the spread of the spruce bark beetle. In recent years, large areas of fir forests have been destroyed or killed by the insectcausing the bark to loosen and fall from the trees. What is usually understood as a sign of decay becomes, in this case, the very condition that makes construction possible. The project, located in Grödinge, Swedenit is shaped by the influence of two insects: one that destroys and one that builds. The bark beetle weakens the tree and separates its outer layer from the trunk, producing excess material. Ants, on the other hand, propose a method, using the tree as a structural core and gradually building a body around it through accumulation. Between these two logics, the hut takes shape.
all images courtesy of Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA)
Bark skin wraps a wooden frame around a spruce trunk
Built around a living fir tree, the structure is shaped by studio Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) uses the trunk as a central pillar. A lightweight frame of wooden studs clad in masonite boards forms a secondary frame, allowing the bark to be layered and secured using a gun and screwdriver. Because of its thin, almost papery quality, spruce bark behaves more like a skin than a rigid surface, folding, overlapping and conforming to form. Unlike the thicker bark of pine, it creates a softer, more permeable casing. The hut takes a tent-like form, enclosing a small interior space that can be entered through a narrow opening. Inside, it functions as a simple shelter, a place to sit and observe the surrounding forest, almost as if inside the tree itself, under its outer skin. The structure is partially camouflaged among the trees, yet its form stands out as a distinct and slightly strange presence.
The Spruce Bark Hut is built from bark collected in a damaged forest
the project reuses material loosened by the spruce bark beetle
layers of bark form the outer skin of the structure
