timber twist by ulf mejergren and travis child reimagines larvae shelter as spiraling log cabin

Ulf Mejergren and Travis Child reference larval structures

Timber Twist is a work created for Virserum Konsthall Art Museum in Sweden by Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) and Esperöd Art Team’s Travis Child, invited as part of the Träkraft (Wood Power) exhibition. Its inspiration comes from the Bagworm moth, whose larvae build protective cases from twigs, moss, and gravel, woven with silk into camouflaged shelters. When mature, the larva fastens its case to a branch and pupates. Only the male emerges with wings; the female remains in the case for life, lays eggs, and dies. These tiny architects build remarkable homes, yet lead restricted lives—a paradox that invites reflection on the shells we build: not just walls and roofs, but the mental, emotional, and societal frameworks formed early in life. ‘These structures offer safety and identity, but can also limit us. Around us lies a vast world, physical and metaphorical, we may never fully explore unless we question our own shells’, shares UMA’s team. This became the foundation of Timber Twist: a human-scale tribute and gentle provocation, inspired by the Bagworm.

all images courtesy of Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA)

Aspen logs in spiraling formation shape Timber Twist cabin

Seeking to echo the larva’s subtlety and craft, the creative team of Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) and Esperöd Art Team’s Travis Child turned to traditional timber techniques. Aspen logs were joined using wooden dowels, with no metal, honoring a craft of invisible strength and quiet precision. Timber Twist reimagines the log cabin. Instead of a rectangle, it takes on a triangular form where each layer rotates slightly, forming a spiraling shape. The round entrance, chisel-carved to resemble tooth marks, is a quiet homage to the beaver, another skilled woodworker fond of aspen’s soft grain. Inside, visitors can sit and look upward into a vortex of timber and time. The space invites contemplation of the homes we build, and the deeper idea of home itself: how it grounds and protects us, but might also quietly confine us. Timber Twist offers a pause and a possibility to imagine other ways of being.

Timber Twist is installed at Virserum Konsthall for the Träkraft exhibition

inspired by the Bagworm moth’s camouflaged larval shelters

Timber Twist is constructed entirely from aspen logs and wooden dowels

each timber layer is rotated slightly to create a continuous twist

entrance is carved to resemble beaver tooth marks in soft aspen

the design references silent precision and subtlety found in nature

diagram of Timber Twist

project info:

name: Timber Twist
architects: Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) | @ulfmejergrenarchitects, Travis Child – Esperöd Art Team

location: Virserum, Sweden

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom