Wednesday, August 20, 2014

By Deanne Shepard


Imagine going to sleep at night with the rustling sounds of bird life in the branches. Imagine waking up in the morning and looking out over a forest while eating breakfast. Treehouses for adults are built to fulfill dreams such as this. These houses have outgrown their role as merely playhouses for children and are increasingly being constructed for other purposes.

Treetop dwellers have been around for centuries. The people of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific are examples of this. However, today specialist companies are focusing on designing and constructing these houses. They are being featured in respected architectural magazines and A World Treehouse Association even exists now as a testament to the growing popularity of this trend.

The strangest and most wonderful versions are frequently featured in classy magazines or design blogs. This means that many ordinary individuals are convinced that a project like this is outside of their reach. Expense actually largely depends on the size of the project, the type of materials used and other factors. Some of these houses are astronomically expensive to construct and others are much more affordable. A simple site visit from a specialist company will be enough to offer a rough estimate of cost.

Many types of these homes are available today from a small cabin to a mansion. The cost is obviously dependent on the size and complexity of the project. A simple cabin is suitable for use as a guestroom, a place to retreat to for some peace and quiet or even an art studio. A more complex structure with a kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms may be used as a permanent dwelling.

Designing and building these houses requires consideration of several unique elements. The first consideration is the tree in which the house is to be built. Is it healthy, what is the root structure like, will it be able to support the structure for many years? Various tests are usually performed to determine the answers before any designs are undertaken. Even construction methods are devoted to maintaining the health of the tree.

These houses come in a great variety of shapes and forms and the boundaries of possibility are constantly being pushed. Some are made of spheres or globes of plywood suspended from cables between trees. This is adaptable to many tricky situations. Some resemble nests and are constructed by weaving branches together to form enclosed spaces. Others offer precision engineering and all the creature comforts.

Eco-friendly custom built varieties are offered by companies using only reclaimed materials. Water is collected and recycled. Double glazed windows offer comfort and energy efficiency. Photovoltaic panels are used to provide electricity.

One may feel that only celebrities or very wealthy people have the money to indulge their fantasies in this way. A house in a tree seems outside of the realm of possibility for many. However, designs of these houses can be functional and fairly affordable as opposed to extravagant and wonderfully strange. Could the popularity of this trend spread to the extent that we actually have tree-communities one day?




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