Sandworm is what its creator, Finnish artist Marco Casagrande calls ‘weak architecture’ Now this doesn’t speak at all to the strength of material or design, but instead to something else not quite quantifiable in one or two words. It is architecture that wishes, wants, to become part of nature and sets out to do this through flexibility and organic presence.
© Nikita Wu
Constructed entirely of woven willow branches, it has been described by those who have visited it as a willow cathedral fine-tuned to pick up and celebrate the unique site and site conditions of the Wenduine tidal beaches. These visitors use the construct for a variety of purposes, from picnics, to places of rest, to meditation.
© Nikita Wu
This quote by Peter Beyen sums it up pretty nicely,
Inside the sandworm you are greeted by a natural spectacle of light and shadow. I was amazed. How you can create such beauty with such simple natural materials. The artist believes that architectural control goes against nature and thus also agains architecture. The built human environment is a mediator between human nature and nature itself. To be part of this, man must be weak. To the Finnish artist Marco Casagrande designing is not sufficient. Design should not replace reality. The building must grow out of the location, it must react to its environment, it must be a reflection of life and also be itself, as every other living being.
© Nikita Wu