frozen curtains form UMA's whimsical icy pavilion

uma unveils whimsical shelter made of frozen drapes

Aesthetically and structurally reminiscent of a sheet ghost, this small pavilion made out of intricately draping frozen curtains appears to emerge like a hovering blanket of snow in the Swedish woodlands. In a continuation of its exploration of building temporary shelters using only natural and found materials, Ulf Mejergren Architects’ (UMA’s) Ghost House boasts a continuous facade of pure ice, wrapped over a structural frame made of curtains.

In below freezing temperatures, the architects initially modelled the structure on a stacked pile of discarded tables and a broken playhouse found nearby the site. Once the construction frame was dismantled and removed, just a thin icy crust with a hollow core remains for a magical winter shelter.

Ghost House | all images courtesy UMA

with a hollow core, the icy structure hovers without a frame

‘To achieve this type of structure we had to wait for the temperature to drop way below freezing. Then we needed a good mold to give shape to the house and that could easily disappear when the curtains had frozen into place,’ explains the team at UMA. On the freezing, snow-capped site, the Swedish architects came across a partially broken playhouse and discarded foldable tables which gave shape to the icy structure. The tables were stacked on top of one another and temporary sealed together with cable ties to form the base of the temporary internal structure, then topped with the broken playhouse.

Forming the outer shell, the architects tied together fifteen extra-long curtains and soaked them in ice-cold water in a nearby lake. ‘We took the big wet bundle and placed it on top of the playhouse mold and adjusted the curtains to a preferred setting.’

the structure was created in below freezing temperatures

The draping curtains almost immediately transformed into a rigid icy structure, though UMA further sprayed it with water a couple more times to ensure the structural stability of the house once the internal frame would be removed. The stacked tables and playhouse were disassembled in place and removed piece by piece through the Ghost House’s narrow entrance. ‘What remains is just the curtains with the icy crust which will hopefully stand for a couple of weeks until the thaw makes the house fall to the ground.’

the facade is formed by fifteen curtains soaked in ice-cold water in a nearby lake