Standing there, suddenly…
"Vonu was created by the people who live it. As I write this I am on a secluded mountainside,
amongst trees and bushes. The sky is mostly blue and the sun is shining, after a day of rain."
Mike Freeman
In 1973, Mike Freeman edited and published VONUlife, a hippie-liberalistic fanzine, for
people who wanted “to live out of sight and out of mind of those unwilling to let live”. After
having published his manifesto, 'What is Vonu?', in what would turn out to be the last number
of VONUlife, Freeman walked into West-Oregon’s great woods and has not been heard from
since.
There are certain aspects about Marianne Borge’s Woody35 that makes me think of Mike
Freeman’s philosophy for freedom, especially his thoughts on how humans should live a
fulfilling life. In Woody35 we recognize a central concept for vonu life: that personal freedom
can be designed in architecture. Despite its physical limitation of only 35m2, this is an
architecture that provides freedom. With its moderate size, natural materials, rooms,
functions and needs, this cabin is a form of architecture that directs focus towards the real
conditions for a sustainable existence, explores the possibilities for human subsistence and a
conscious choice of lifestyle in our urban and high-tech civilization. Woody35 is created and
shaped by the landscape and nature that surrounds it, and the people who spend time in it.
But the architect’s wish to establish an independent life for the cabin’s future residents are
just one of several ideas that lie behind the sculptural design of this architecture.
With its distinctive sculpted triangular shape the roof of the loft stretches itself upwards,
towards the sky. Parts of the particular shape of the cabin’s architecture is reminiscent both
of beautiful old stave churches, which are Norway’s specific cultural heritage, but at the same
time the cabin is perceived as modern and urban. It is the sum of the architect’s experiences
and inspiration sources – nature, materials, light, travels, history, people, art, film and
literature – all merged and manifested into an architectonic whole.
The cabin, both creates and provides room, it feels spacious. Inside the cabin the extra high
roof creates a feeling of space and air, both upwards and around, in the form of the high
ceilings in the living room, the open loft, and the functional flow between the rooms. One
bedroom is situated by itself, with its north-facing window; this room is equipped with a big
sliding door and can easily connect with the rest of the cabin. The playful triangular shape
that the architect has given the loft, conjures up wonderful childhood memories of playing in
the woods or Indian tents pitched in the living room. Inside the cabin walls and roof easily
merge with each other, all dressed in light plywood birch. The choice of materials in the
furniture compliments the rooms. It becomes clear that the architect has come up with new
thoughts regarding both design and functionality, and as a result of this the functions of the
room are transformed.
How to build an invisible structure with a clear sculptural shape? The large panes of glass in
the windows give the impression that the room stretches out, beyond its exterior walls, as far
as the eye can see, apparently without boundaries. The scenery outside is incorporated
naturally into the cabin. Woody35 becomes a “room catcher”, naturally situated in the
landscape, but created to take in a much larger space.
Tekst: Therese Veier