ulf mejergren revives dilapidated swedish farm house with hay

ulf mejergren expands his farm art series with hay house

Ulf Mejergren’s next chapter for his Farm Art series breathes new life into an abandoned farm house located on a stretch of land in Sweden. Aptly titled Hay House, the structure’s transformation centers around creating a new entrance point and enhancing insulation with a natural facade sourced from a nearby field. Two centuries ago, rural landscapes were home to 90 percent of Sweden’s population, while today nearly 90 percent live in cities, resulting in thousands of abandoned, decaying farm structures in the countryside. On the farm where Mejergren’s intervention takes shape stands a small house once inhabited by a family of twelve, and dilapidated with a collapsed roof, fungi-ridden floors, rat burrows made, and makeshift homes for stray cats. Despite this ruin, a small section near one gable appeared to be in decent condition, prompting Mejergren to transform it into a quaint functional shelter accessible through a newly created opening.

all images courtesy of Ulf Mejergren

a wall of hay envelops this quaint shelter in the fields

The exterior of the derelict house was marked by an existing, impassable door, while the interior held dangling rafters. Revitalizing these features, Ulf Mejergren repurposed the existing gable window into an entry point and a new facade was created to improve the shelter’s insulation for both mice and men. Aligning with the cabin’s crooked structure on sloping ground, a wooden frame was constructed directly on the cabin, outlining its features with studs. This frame, adorned with ryegrass hay sourced from a nearby field, was then laid on the ground, backed by a layer of metal net to create an insulated exterior. A hay pile is placed adjacent to the gable facade and serves a dual purpose as an outdoor sofa.

The interior’s functionality remains under consideration, as the architect potentially envisages a wall of hay that may separate the space from the rest of the collapsing structure. Presently furnished with a chair, lamp, and a shelf housing a collection of books, the cabin witnesses a resurgence of life. This effort is part of the Farm Art series and is funded by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.

a small section near one gable prompted the architect to transform the structure into a functional shelter