ulf mejergren repurposes dead trees into a pine bark hut camouflaged into swedish forest

farm art: a collaboration between architect & farmer

In an unexpected yet whimsical collaboration, Swedish artist and architect Ulf Mejergren has teamed up with local farmer Robert Pettersson to embark upon a year-long project titled Farm Art. Blending inherent farming techniques and know-how with the creative intentions of the artist, the duo builds various designs on Pettersson’s lands in Grödinge, reflecting his field crops, forestry, livestock, and hunting practices.

Pine Bark Hut is the first project of the series emerging from the dense pine tree forest as a camouflaged hut repurposed from discarded pine bark. Sited strategically with views over a clear-cut area where moose and boar often wonder, the farmer intends on using it as a hunting spot. Though in the meantime, the enclosure sits as a tool shed for the duo’s next Farm Art project.

Ulf Mejergren & Robert Pettersson’s Pine Bark Hut | all images courtesy the author

ulf mejergren + robert pettersson revive discarded pine bark

When seeking inspiration from the lands, Robert Pettersson and architect Ulf Mejergren encountered a clear-cut area where the farmer had cut down a lot of trees — mostly pine — to sell to a local sawmill. Left behind in a piled stack next to a dirt road the trunks had dried up, creating large, loose chunks of bark that could be easily removed. Inspired by their rough and scaly texture, the duo decided to breathe new life into the discarded tree trunks by creating a Pine Bark Hut.

Due to the heavy weight of each bark chunk, it was necessary to design a sturdy structure that could withstand its weight. Pettersson and Mejergren incorporated a triangular formation of living pine trees they found close by the clear-cut. In between the trees, three simple walls made from studs and plywood were secured to one another with additional studs. The raw, textured facade blends almost seamlessly into the engulfing forest of pine trees, creating an illusion of a ‘super trunk’, interrupted only by a large cut opening which serves as the enclosure’s entrance.

the first from the Farm Art series, reviving discarded tree bark in creative ways

the project blends inherent farming techniques and know-how with creative intentions

Robert Pettersson and the hut