Pods + Treehouses

Pacific Environments of New Zealand have designed pod-like treehouses sitting 33 feet high in redwood trees. I love the wrapping of the wood to enclose the pod without a literal fully enclosed shell.

Tree House in the City

     

I have found yet another tree house that I love.  "Tree House" by Mount Fuji Architects Studio is an home squeezed between other homes in Japan.  The wooden arches gradually rise around a central axis to create a emphasis on height rather than width in this small space.  The space is broken up into four parts, each part having a different height and amount of natural light dependent on function.  For example, the dining room has a higher height with more light, while the bedrooms have lower ceilings with less light. 

 

"It is more suitable to extend the volume vertically rather than horizontally. Similar reason can be found in the nature that a tree enclosed by other tall trees in a deep forest tends to have vertical directivity for its growth."

Camouflaged Tree House

From the creators of the Macaroni Nursery, come the Tree Hotel by Tham & Videgard Arkitekter.

The hotel itself is a suspended mirror box mounted up a tree trunk.  The mirrors reflect trees, and thus if you aren't wearing your glasses, hopefully you don't even notice the hotel within the vast forest.  The structure is made out of lightweight aluminum with a plywood interior, so it's not too heavy on the tree.  A rope bridge, something like Swiss Family Robinson, leads you up to the tree house.  Luckily, the interior is not also comprised of mirrors.

The interior is large enough for two visitors, including a bed, bathroom, small living room, and roof terrace.

There are windows within this structure, but they are also fairly hidden to blend in with the camouflaged mirrored glass.  Also, the glass is laminated with an ultraviolet color that only birds can see so that no birds will crash into the tree house.

  

Looks cozy to me.  All the materials allow for comfortable living in the harsh conditions of its location (Harads, Sweden - very close to the polar circle).