• SETTLEMENTS IN THE LANDSCAPE PART I
  
  In the first part of this semester project, the assignment was to create a plan for 24 houses in a nature context, where scientists, students and artists can escape from city life in order to research, study and produce. The only given factors are that each house must be approximately 50 m2 and have access to an exterior space in the form of terraces or porches. The houses can be placed together or spread out in the landscape. 
  
  Students were asked to analyze a larger nature reserve in Northern Zealand, Denmark, and choose a specific site for the 24 houses and then place them in the landscape. Cars are not supposed to be able to drive all the way to the houses and will park at a remote location, but it should be considered if small pathways must be designed in order to reach the houses by foot.

Think Tank Treehouse

Art and research often times requires so much dedication that the routines of the daily life can be disruptive for the creative process. These 24 compact houses provide an option for artist, students and scientists to get away from the hectic city life and focus on their work in beautiful and inspiring surroundings. 

The 24 houses are placed in a forest patch on a hillside spread out in a seemingly random fashion, though angled to orient the view away from the other houses and towards the forest. Taking inspiration from the classic tree house that children use to enter an alternate universe and combining it with the classic house, the houses only have a 20% footprint in relation to its size, the remaining parts of the house are gradually elevated having as little impact on the landscape as possible while still maintaining an easy access, incredible view, improved lighting and the feeling of isolation.

• SETTLEMENTS IN THE LANDSCAPE PART II
  
  Where the first part of the semester project focused on the relation of the houses with each other and the landscape, In the second part of the project the objective was to zoom in and specify the design for the houses that comprise the settlement plan that was conceived in part one. The assignment was pitched as a study in compact housing, given the fact that each house should not exceed 50 m2. 
  
  Students were asked to choose one of the 24 houses and design its exterior, interior and decide which materials should be used. Given that the scientists, students and artists of the house will not be staying permanently, but instead for shorter periods of time related to their work, it should be considered how the houses should be furnished. At the end of the time-frame, students were asked to go back and update the first part of the project, to hand in a complete semester project.

Furnitecture

One of the most important issues in a compact house is the positioning of the furniture because it is directly connected to the way one perceives space and the general impression of the room size. Apart from the standard and necessary furniture and functions, you seldom have a lot of space for personal items that define who you are.

By taking advantage of the different levels of the Think Tank Tree House that elevate the residence out of the hill and towards the light, a significant amount of space can be saved. Table and seating are integrated in the level and transitional space between the kitchen and the living room, while the entire room in the level above is equipped with a mattress in order to function as a bedroom and as seating in the living room which has a big open space and panoramic windows,  which brings the forest into the room and make you feel close to the surroundings.

In this way the function of each room is defined by where the resident is situated in the house at any given time, while the area that lies in the transitions between the rooms is used more than once: When you are in the kitchen, the living room is a table and when you are in the living room, the bedroom is a couch.

Additionally, storage space is built in under the stairs that lead up to the rooftop terrace which reflects the way the interior spaces are organized.

The result is a compact residence where the line between furniture and space is completely blurred while the space that the usual obligatory furniture that cover your basic needs would have otherwise taken is freed up, thus creating plenty of space in the living room for the resident’s personal items. You are literally living in furniture!

- Chris Gotfredsen, 2009