The Hedgehog | Schneeflocke Arkitect

Nature is organic, so why a building shouldn’t be?

Project of a first-aid structure for a competition.

The building with the shape of a hedgehog floats on a platform, so that it can be easily moved with the use of a ship. The building presents two different terraces one on top of the other: the one on the ground floor has a direct access from the lake and the one on the first floor is semi-covered and can be accessed by a wooden ladder.

The rooms are organized around a central nucleus. Thanks to this layout, all the rooms have a view on the east, south or west side.

The windows look like wounds on the skin of the building, through which you can see the outside landscape that keeps changing as the building is floating on water. Showing deep respect for the nature that surrounds the building, it is made of organic and local materials; this is a chance for Cambodian people to build using their own techniques. Moreover, all the materials are recyclable and could be reused when the structure gets dismissed.

From nature to building and back to nature again.

On top being eco friendly, we want to be energy efficient, designing a passive building.

The shape of the roof on top of the terrace is aerodynamics to avoid the “air-planning” effect and due to its conformation it can also host solar and photovoltaic panels. Moreover rainwater can be collected and stored on the floating platform. 

We planned a Handy Pod System for the toilet, an innovative system that using a two-stage sequestration and treatment (which includes aquatic plants) can address the challenge of providing effective sanitation. It can reduce significantly the open water defecation and keep the ambient-water clean.
More details about energy efficiency are explained on the plan.