Archinect - News

This cantilevering modular treehouse peeks into the Estonian wilderness

2023-10-02T12:00:00-04:00

Estonian studio Arsenit has completed an elevated timber retreat nestled in the trees close to the country’s largest waterfall. Named ‘Piil’ after the Estonian word ‘pilluma’ which means ‘peeking/looking,’ the 30-foot-tall prefabricated treehouse is elevated off the ground to minimize its interference with the forest surface while providing generous views across the Estonian countryside.

Image credit: Yifan Liu

The treehouse was designed to stand on one ‘leg’, which supports an accommodation module above. A discreet door provides access to the interior, with the cladding layer peeled back to reveal the metal structure supporting the cantilever. Both the leg and accommodation modules act as large steel trusses wrapped in pine cladding. While the leg module contains a staircase, services, and sports equipment storage, the accommodation module provides a living room and raised bedroom.

Image credit: Yifan Liu

Externally, the scheme is finishe...

Airbnb reveals $10 million OMG! Fund design contest winners

2022-10-17T15:29:00-04:00

Airbnb has named the 100 winners of its recently-launched OMG! Fund design contest celebrating the “craziest and most unique” buildings submitted to the short-term rental giant from more than 20 countries across the world.

The contest awards $100,000 to each design as judged by a four-person panel that included design tastemaker Iris Apfel, Airbnb Superhost Kristie Wolfe, architect Koichi Takada, and the company’s VP of Experiential Bruce Vaughn.

"Giant Flower Pot on a Farm in Small Town Idaho" by Whitney H., United States

"Giant Pig in Meadow at Pig Sanctuary" by Tracey S., United States

“What an incredible journey it has been to be a part of the OMG! Fund judging process. There were so many inspiring stories and destinations that I had never heard of before that I’m now eager to visit,” Wolfe said at the announcement. “As a builder myself, I can’t wait to watch these ideas come to life. These are more than just places to spend the night — each one offers an entire experience!”

"Mod...

Electric car marker Polestar launches KOJA, a treehouse with an environmental message

2022-08-23T12:33:00-04:00

Electric car company Polestar has overseen the construction of KOJA, a treehouse designed by Finnish designer Kristian Talvitie which they say balances architectural beauty with a commentary on the climate emergency.

KOJA. Image © Polestar

Originally awarded an honorable mention at the 2021 Polestar Design Contest, the scheme has now been constructed in Fiskars, an artistic town in the Southwest of Finland. The scheme’s realization, a first for any Polestar winner, coincides with the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale, a “topical, egalitarian platform for encounters between makers and enthusiasts.”

KOJA. Image © Polestar

KOJA derives its name from the Swedish word for “hut” or “den,” and manifests as a minimalistic treehouse, constructed from sustainable materials that seek to provide an immersive natural experience. The scheme balances this memorable natural experience with a prompt for visitors to help combat climate change and preserve the natural world.

KOJA. Image © Polestar...

Want to become a treehouse designer? There’s a job for that

2022-04-05T13:04:00-04:00

As the industry-leading job board for the architecture industry, Archinect Jobs publishes up to 200 new opportunities every week, covering a wide variety of locations, roles, descriptions, and experience requirements. The broad mixture of opportunities available on Archinect Jobs represents the endless possibilities afforded by an architectural background; a point also evident through our ongoing Working Out Of The Box series.

This variety of possibilities has recently been reinforced by Colorado-based Treecraft Design-Build, who are currently seeking a full-time “Treehouse Designer / Project Manager” to join their team. From their office in Fort Collins, CO, Treecraft Design-Build specialize in the design and construction of highly crafted custom treehouses, playgrounds, and small-scale unique structures, primarily in Colorado. Projects can range from small playhouses to fully livable treehouses.

Previously on Archinect: Microsoft offers treehouses to connect their employees ba...

This Bali-based Treetop hotel gives visitors an "off-the-ground" experience

2020-02-18T12:13:00-05:00

The Alexis Dornier-designed Bali-based Treetop Boutique Hotel is located in a suburb of Ubud on the Indonesian island of Bali. Alexis Dornier is a local architecture studio and used this project as a means to experiment with ways to lift structures off of the ground in an effort to have a less impactful footprint on the environment in addition to lower costs and faster construction.

"Many developments here on the island use high quantities of concrete. We wanted to challenge that and create light architecture while suggesting a surreal mix of industrial impermanent structures embedded into a tropical forest," the architects said in a statement.

Each of the structures within this village framework has a different appearance and organizational structure. Some are composed of a louvered materiality, multi-leveled and circulated by a singular spiral stair case, while others, holding the same stair motif, contain only a single level that sits at the peak of the architecture.

The grounds ...

Studio Puisto's Arctic TreeHouse Hotel offers village style accommodation units

2020-01-28T15:09:00-05:00

Located in the Arctic Circle, Finland, the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel draws inspiration from the nearby SantaPark Arctic World, the local Nordic nature and culture. Studio Puisto chose to do away with the typical hotel building, and instead designed a village of 32 units.

Each structure contains two shingle covered units with northern facing walls of glass, offering panoramic views to the exterior. The lighting within the hotel was designed to minimize artificial light pollution, allowing undisturbed viewing of the Northern Lights.

World's largest treehouse destroyed by fire

2019-10-25T14:00:00-04:00

The Minister's Treehouse — reportedly the largest treehouse in the world — has burned to the ground after a raging fire. The Tennessee landmark went up in flames late Tuesday night, and officials were unable to save it. Cumberland County Fire Rescue said the entire building turned to ash in less than 15 minutes, CBS affiliate WVLT-TV confirmed. Locals watched as the fire erupted around 10:30 p.m. local time. The house collapsed just as emergency services arrived.

Built by Tennessee minister Horace Burgess, in response to a vision he had, the construction of the treehouse began in 1993. The structure was supported by an 80-foot-tall oak tree and quickly became a popular tourist attraction. In 2012 the location was closed due to fire safety concerns, a worry that has sadly been realized this October.

Microsoft offers treehouses to connect their employees back with nature

2017-10-18T14:54:00-04:00

While Apple opens the doors to their new campus, and Amazon looks for a location for its second, Microsoft has gone in a different direction, building Wi-Fi tree houses so staff can connect with nature.

Microsoft's campus is comprised of 120 buildings spread across Redmond, Washington—a suburb of Seattle—and surrounded by 500 acres of woods. After a recent employee survey found many workers would like to work outdoors more, the tech company has added to their campus by rigging up three high-tech tree houses in Redmond's Pacific Northwest Douglas firs. The company is also currently working on other tech enable outdoor districts around the campus for their employees.

Pete Nelson of Animal Planet's "Treehouse Masters" was recruited to help create the new elevated meeting space. Equipped with Wi-Fi, electricity—every weatherproof bench has a hatch containing a power supply—an outdoor gas fireplace, and a shipping container that houses a barbecue restaurant, the company hopes to boost em...

Is Snøhetta's "7th room" 2017's coolest (literally and figuratively) treehouse?

2017-01-19T14:10:00-05:00

Snøhetta's "7th Room" is an addition to the previously existing Treehotel in Northern Sweden. The tree-canopy-level, snow-blanketed room features a pretty cool assortment of sleek furnishings and views, whether you're standing on the ground looking up, or lounging on the fur-lined chairs looking out.

In addition to the tree that grows through the cabin, the arrangement of the rooms, centered around a netted terrace, gives "7th Room" a hyper-sophisticated treehouse vibe.

POLITICO features mini-doc on the biologically based architecture and urban design work of Terreform ONE

2015-11-10T20:29:00-05:00

Bio City -Terreform ONE’s Mitchell Joachim pushes the boundaries of architecture with experimental materials such as living trees and engineered animal tissue — to design future cities that merge with nature.

Mini documentary on the biologically based architecture and urban design work of the nonprofit group Terreform ONE at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in NY.

Japan's largest treehouse is also a high-tech engineering feat

2015-07-24T15:09:00-04:00

Completed in March of 2014, Kusukusu [...] is a marvelous feat of architecture, engineering and technology. Working with Hiroshi Nakamura of NAP Architects, the team came in and 3D-scanned hundreds of points on the tree. Based on that 3D data they then created a steel trellis that threaded through the tree, interlocking perfectly [...]. What’s amazing is that the treehouse in its entirety, never touches the tree. It’s completely self-standing so as to not harm the tree.

Here are a few more images of the stunner of a treehouse in Atami, Japan designed by master treehouse builder Takashi Kobayashi in collaboration with NAP Architects.

To learn more and see the complete set of photos, head over to Spoon & Tamago.

Photos by Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners Inc.

In other tree-hugging news on Archinect:

An Urban Treehouse That Absorbs Pollution

2015-03-16T19:22:00-04:00

It's a special building because it lives, grows, breathes and changes over time. Its terraces are dotted with 150 tall trees which together with 50 plants in the court produce about 150,000 liters per hour of oxygen, at night absorbing about 200,000 liters of carbon dioxide per hour. Also slashing particulate matter caused by cars, protecting from noise, following the natural cycle of the seasons, growing day by day, creating an ideal microclimate.

^ Translated from Italian. Check the source for more photos.

Werk Studio’s TREE|HUB: Conversing with designers inside a tree house

2013-09-19T20:33:00-04:00

The TREE|HUB is a timber tree house built 3 meters off the ground in a backyard in Peckham, London. Werk Studio—a collaborative team of design students from Goldsmiths-University of London—initiated the non-profit project for the London Design Festival as a pavilion for hosting a conversation series with featured designers until Sept. 22.

Boxy Wooden Treehouse Tower Now Open in Netherlands!

2010-08-31T10:05:00-04:00

This boxy and modern wooden observation tower by Ateliereen Architecten recently opened to the public in the Netherlands. Read more at Inhabitat

Offbeat Traveler: Yellow Treehouse restaurant in New Zealand

2009-04-22T18:24:00-04:00

This unusual restaurant started life as an ad campaign for Yellow, a New Zealand company similar to the Yellow Pages. The idea was to build a restaurant in a tree using only resources listed in the company's directories. via LA Times | SpaceInvading

MIT treehouse gets discovered

2006-01-21T13:31:00-05:00

The Discovery channel finds houses made out of trees designed by Mitchell Joachim, Lara Greden and Archinect's own Javier Arbona.

The news story was also picked up by FARK bringing trolls out of the woodwork to chip in with their thoughts.