FREE-SPIRIT ECO TREEHOUSE. I just spotted this crazy hanging treehouse, which looks like a cross between those uber 60′s hanging bubble chairs and an Ewok dwelling! Designed by Tom Chudleigh the Free Spirit Sphere is an eco-friendly living quarter that was created to co-exist unobtrusively with its forest environment. I wish these had been around back in the treehouse days of my youth. Too bad these things cost between 100 – 250K. They also have no bathroom and the interior is a bit cramped at 8 sq ft. Guess they are only for the serious tree maven for now. New Zealand’s Whimsical Yellow Treehouse Restaurant. The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd.
(PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood forest. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and it makes extensive use of natural lighting throughout. When approached by the Yellow Pages to design a treehouse, PEL jumped at the chance. “The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination,” say PEL. While we love the organic design of the treehouse and applaud its unique integration into the landscape, we wonder just how ‘green’ the project really is. The question is an ongoing architect’s dilemma; is a client’s political, ethical, religious and/or environmental affiliation important?
+ Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. Via World Architecture News. Tree House. Ce beau projet, intitulé Wilkinson Residence, est visible dans la forêt de Portland. Avec une architecture en parfaite harmonie avec la nature, cette maison construite dans les arbres a été imaginée par le créateur Robert Harvey Oshatz. De nombreux clichés à découvrir dans la suite. Treehotel - Welcome to Treehotel. Home.
Rotational forces can be used to unfold an umbrella without any solid elements. The umbrella is made of a double membrane similar to a paraglider building a cavity. This cavity is connected to the ambient through air inlets near the axis. By rotation the pneu centrifugal forces are inflating it. Depending on rotational speed and wind forces the pneu is changing its appearance showing fascinating shapes. AGENCE D'ARCHITECTURE GILLES EBERSOLT SARL. The Bamboo Treehouse. Birding Tower.
Located in neighboring Perry County is Perry Lakes Park, where the Rural Studio has completed four projects since 2001. The latest addition is a 100-foot-tall birding tower that offers an unparalleled view of the park's bird habitat. Four thesis students worked with the Alabama Forestry Commission to select a decommissioned fire tower, then purchased it from the state for $25. “The catch was,” says team member Natalie Butts, “we had to remove it.” Before work could begin, the students were trained and certified in tower construction.
Dismantling the 18,000 pounds of steel took them only 15 days—no cranes involved. Following the advice of structural consultants Joe Farruggia and Anderson Inge, the students decided to place the tower on helical anchors because of limited access to the wooded site. “Our hope for the tower is to allow people to experience nature at many different levels,” says Butts. 4TREEHOUSE by Lukasz Kos. What is it about tree houses that we love so much? Their playfulness, the escapism they offer, and the platforms they provide into nature all come to mind. We have written about the 4Treehouse by Lukasz Kos before, but when we saw it again in this month’s Dwell, the gorgeous glowing image stopped us in our tracks. Posing as a Japanese lantern on stilts, Kos’ creation floats within the fir trees on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. What’s more, the design frames spectacular views of the forest, from inside, out, down and up!
Letting the existing trees set the parameters of the project, the tree house was constructed around the base of four existing trees, rather than stretching between them. The tall, tube-like structure allows for visitors to ascend up along with the trees. Lukasz Kos is a cofounder of Testroom, a Toronto-based architecture and design firm. + Testroom Via Dwell. Styx Valley Protest Shelter.
Interview with The Financial Times (London) You have a reputation for subversive and innovative projects – can you share your views on the future of treehouse design? Is there anyone that does not have a soft spot for treehouses? Bart Simpson’s treehouse epitomises what we love about them. A place of play, adventure and creativity. Is there a future for structures that are fixed to trees in our increasingly litigious society?
In the future tree houses are likely to be spaces that occupy tree canopies, while their structure remains fixed to the ground, rather than to tree trunks. Though it is not a treehouse, our recent Moor House is designed so that the bedroom is surrounded by tree canopy. Drawing from your work on the Styx Valley protest shelter, how important are trees in designing communities in the future. Treehouses force us to question so much that we take for granted in the spaces we occupy day-to-day. People like the idea of including a treehouse in their project.