Hygge
2020
New York, NY 2140
In collaboration w/ Danrui Xiang
Critic: Kathy Velikov
Project website
Awards and Recognitions
arch out loud WARMING Competion 2020 - Director’s Choice
Featured in archdaily
Taubman College’s Student Show 2021
New York has been living 50’ underwater for over four decades. The traffic of New York City has been replaced by speed boats and kayaks with ever present sea-life merging in to join the rat race. High above, sky bridges and floating walkways have taken the place of sidewalks while drones and airships litter the skies beyond what remains of the tall towers of decades gone by.
Hygge (HOO-GA) is a speculative company focused on the needs of people in a post-sea-level-rise New York City by understanding their collective kinship within the rest of the world. In a city used to "living with the trouble”, Hygge hopes to lend a helping hand while also reminding residents that they are ever connected to something much larger and greater than themselves.
Due to the rapid increase in sea level, large docks world-wide have all but been destroyed making traditional shipping nearly impossible. As such, Hygge hopes that their new airship factory will become a new model for the making and delivery of on-demand goods to consumers.
The factory is a double-shelled, completely automated airship. Hydroponic systems line the inside shell of the factory, holding cotton and algae, which are then picked by drones and processed through large looms. The drones then separate the textile and store the large bundles in the middle of the factory. Then the robotic arms, with the help of conveyor belts, make the products. When finished, products are then boxed and shipped out to the city below by drone.
The project is heavily influenced by notable futurist Donna Haraway’s ideals, philosophies and themes and begins to dissect these teachings into actionable items. Hygge questions what would happen if these teachings were corrupted for corporate profit rather than common societal gain. The design envisions the company's airship-based factory and products to facilitate awareness and the necessity to “stick with the trouble” in the ever changing city. To promote these philosophies, Hygge has created its own Hierarchy of Needs called, “The Hierarchy of Trouble” that then has been actualized into products that can be sold to the people of New York City.
The design envisions the company’s airship-based factory, products, and website. Hygge is introduced in a podcast by the fictional character Amelia from Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140.
