This Red Cottage Rises 20 Feet On A Scissor Lift When Floods Strike - Yanko Design
Briefly

This Red Cottage Rises 20 Feet On A Scissor Lift When Floods Strike - Yanko Design
"Currently on display at ArkDes - The Swedish Center for Architecture and Design in Stockholm as part of the "Beredd (Ready)" exhibition, the project emerged from urgent questions about emergency preparedness. "In an era of increasing downpours, record rainfall, and sudden weather shifts, the work explores what it means to live in a state of constant emergency," explains Mejergren. "What do we choose to take with us? How do we live when the ground beneath us can no longer be trusted?""
"The architectural solution is deceptively simple yet technically sophisticated. A traditional Swedish cottage, complete with gabled roof and wooden panel cladding, sits mounted on an industrial scissor lift painted in classic Swedish red. The marriage of vernacular domesticity with industrial mechanics creates a striking dialogue between comfort and functionality, between permanence and mobility. Material efficiency drove every design decision. With the lift's capacity limited to just 227 kilograms, each component required careful calculation to maintain structural balance and stability."
"Material efficiency drove every design decision. With the lift's capacity limited to just 227 kilograms, each component required careful calculation to maintain structural balance and stability. The simplified chimney, fabricated from CNC-cut MDF, and the minimal interior furnishings all contribute to the project's strategic lightness. Lace curtains flutter at the windows, introducing an almost surreal domesticity to what is essentially a piece of emergency equipment."
The Lift House is a compact red cottage mounted on a mobile industrial scissor lift, offering an elevated, mobile shelter strategy for climates with unpredictable ground conditions. The design combines traditional Swedish domestic forms with industrial mechanics to balance comfort and functionality. Strict material-efficiency constraints respond to a 227-kilogram lift capacity, driving simplified elements such as a CNC-cut MDF chimney and minimal furnishings. The prototype foregrounds emergency preparedness under increasing downpours and sudden weather shifts, posing practical questions about what personal belongings to take and how to maintain domesticity while prioritizing lightweight mobility and structural stability.
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