Best in Class: Take a bough

Alanna Gallagher rounds up the best examples of tree house design around the world

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Perched high in a redwood forest the namesake Redwoods tree house, originally called the Yellow Treehouse restaurant, is a place to perch and be seen. Designed by Peter Eising of New Zealand-based Pacific Environments Architects the structure resembles an enormous chrysalis that looks like it’s been grafted onto the 40m-high arbour. Constructed of poplar slats and redwood balustrading milled at the site the space makes extensive use of natural light. The firm has also used the concept at a resort-based self-contained accommodation in Poland. Photograph: Lucy G photography

Almost invisible the Mirror House, part of the Tree Hotel project in Harads in Sweden’s north, about 50m south of the Arctic Circle, is the perfect place to hide from the world. Set in a magnificent evergreen forest it was designed as a place to immerse yourself in nature. Completed six years ago by architects Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård of Tham and Videgård it is compact and offers wonderful views through the trees. The accommodation includes a small bathroom with a “frozen loo”. tvark.se; treehotel.se; atelje-lyktan.se. Photograph: Lindman photography

The fact that the owners of Casa No Muro in Albergaria dos Dozes, Portugal, didn’t have a tree didn’t deter French studio Saperlipopette Les Architectes and Martial Marquet Architecture from installing a wooden structure that perches atop a wall rather than on a traditional branch. The gaps in the slatted structure let light stream through as the sun would dapple the forest floor with its rays. martialmarquet.com; saperlipopette-les-architectes.com

Japanese design studio Nendo’s tree house lets you peer into the private lives of birds. The bird apartment, designed in 2009, is a semi-detached property of sorts that doubles as a bird watching station. On one side of the divide there are 78 tiny birdhouses that are separated from the human side by a wall sporting tiny peep holes so those lucky enough to visit the Ando Momofuku Center, an establishment in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture can survey what the birds are doing without scaring them away. It’s the ultimate in avian voyeurism. Nendo.jp

The Tree Top studio is a work space for Australian architect Max Pritchard who needed an office at his home, but didn’t want to modify his listed elevated steel house. Wrapped in golden plywood the office is accessed via a timber decked bridge. Pritchard built it himself including the circular table. The office has no artificial heating or cooling. Vertical banks of louvres provide cross ventilation in the coastal environment in summer, with the flat “lid” roof providing shade. Low winter sun provides heating – something that wouldn’t work in Ireland. Maxpritchardarchitect.com.au. Photograph: Sam Noonan

Dublin-based garden and landscaper Peter O’Brien is one of the country’s go-to designers of tree houses. His company Plan Eden specialises in the design and construction of water features, children’s play gardens and bespoke tree houses. This one, which was inspired by the books of Dr Seuss, was built in Westmeath for one very lucky family. Suspended between two oak trees, it has a rope and slat gangway and can also be accessed via a ladder. Planedengardendesign.ie

Owl’s tree house in Oxfordshire is a design by UK-based Blue Forest, the company that created the wonderful tree house playground at Birr Castle. Its southwest facing balcony is built around the trunk of a majestic beech tree, offering shade and privacy to the children as they play. The house has a rustic feel, thanks in part to the railing of natural hazelwood spindles. Neat cedar panelling on the exterior walls and roof of the tree house add a warm wash of colour to the secluded setting. Blueforest.com

Thu Jun 23 2016 - 16:20

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