BIG has shared details about their latest collaboration with British clothing brand Vollebak to design a self-sufficient, off-grid island, in Jeddore Harbor, off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The 44,515.4 square meters (11-acre), named Vollebak Island, will be home to a village-like series of nine interconnected buildings clustered under a man-made hill, all intended to be fully powered by carbon-neutral energy.

The island will be auctioned via Sotheby's Concierge Auctions' Exceptional Global Properties sale at Sotheby's New York on 14 June. Bidders will vie for the chance to own the island and to be granted exclusive rights to the design vision, including the planning permission for those designs.
The Vollebak Island designed by BIG and FBM, will center around the 597-sq. m. Earth House, a structure comprised of nine interconnected buildings, and the Wood House, an 88-sq. m. structure with a standalone garden suite on the island’s eastern shoreline.

A combination of offshore wind, geothermal and solar-generated energy will power the structures on the island, with excess energy to be stored in Tesla power walls. This ensures that all energetic needs of the island can be met in a carbon-neutral manner.
 
"Vollebak is using technology and material innovation to create clothes that are as sustainable and resilient as they are beautiful. In other words, the fashion equivalent of BIG's architectural philosophy of Hedonistic Sustainability. For Vollebak Island, we incorporate local tradition elevated by global innovation in a self-sustained manmade ecosystem."
Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director, BIG.


Vollebak Island by BIG. Rendering by MIR. Image courtesy Vollebak.

The Earth House, a cluster of buildings, is envisioned rising gently from the ground at the heart of the island. BIG and the FBM team will each building intentionally built with a different material a different fragment of nature reflected in the dominant material used.

As a gateway to the island, ‘Earth House’ incorporates a living and dining room made entirely of weather-resistant and naturally insulating thatch;  this space will serve as a central gathering area for cooking, eating, and relaxing around a large six-meter Viking fire pit.

Residents and guests will reside in one of the four bedrooms created with fire-retardant hempcrete, 3D-printed concrete, and natural boulders. A series of additional facilities complete the program of the Earth House, including a Japanese-style bath, a stargazing room, and meditation spaces.


View of Vollebak Island's Earth House. Vollebak Island by BIG. Rendering by MIR. Image courtesy Vollebak.

Even more, a made of glass bricks will provide a local source of food on Vollebak island. Energy will be stored in a building with a solar roof and submarine door, while the boat house will take inspiration from the local tradition of using seaweed as an insulation material. Complementing the Earth House, the Wood House will feature a standalone two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence built of wood from the island. The monolithic façade opens towards the seaside via an eight-meter triangular window.

According to the development team, Vollebak Island serves as a proof of concept to show how a self-sufficient and carbon-neutral model, can be scaled to villages, towns, cities, and even countries.

More information

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Architects
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BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group in collaboration with FBM.
Partners-in-charge.- Bjarke Ingels, Andreas Klok Pedersen.
Project lead.- Ryohei Koike.
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Design team
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Ania Podlaszewska, David Vieira Agostinho, Ayham Kabbani, Sara Najar Sualdea, Théo Hamy, Isabelle Doumet, Weronika Zareba.
BIG Sustainability.- Will Chuanrui Yu, Jan Zawadzki, Harish Karthick Vijay.
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Client
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Vollebak.
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Area
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620 sqm.
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Venue / Localitation
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Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Rendering
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MIR.
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Bjarke Ingels (born in Copenhagen, in 1974) studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and the School of Architecture of Barcelona, ​​obtaining his degree as an architect in 1998. He is the founder of the BIG architecture studio - (Bjarke Ingels Group), a studio founded in 2005, after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 with his former partner Julien de Smedt, whom he met while working at the prestigious OMA studio in Rotterdam.

Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings worldwide, and currently, his studio is based with venues in Copenhagen and New York. His projects include The Mountain, a residential complex in Copenhagen, and the innovative Danish Maritime Museum in Elsinore.

With the PLOT study, he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and with BIG he has received numerous awards such as the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Other prizes are the Culture Prize of the Crown Prince of Denmark in 2011; Along with his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.

In 2018, Bjarke received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog granted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. He is a frequent public speaker and continues to give lectures at places such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street or the World Economic Forum. In 2018, Bjarke was appointed Chief Architectural Advisor by WeWork to advise and develop the design vision and language of the company for buildings, campuses and neighborhoods around the world.

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Published on: June 3, 2023
Cite: "Self-Sufficient Off-Grid Island, for Vollebak Clothing Brand, by BIG" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/self-sufficient-grid-island-vollebak-clothing-brand-big> ISSN 1139-6415
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