Modern Treehouses for Children

Treehouses are more popular than ever, as play spaces for children but also as luxury hotel (and even house) designs for adults. Some of the most fantastic plans and ideas can be traced to specialist designers and builders - and pictures of their work can provide some of the best inspiration (as well as an informal visual guide) for do-it-yourself recreational, residential and commercial tree buildings.
Blue Forest is one such company, but far from the only one. Their specialty seems to lie somewhere between playful little fantasy structures and big educational spaces for children engaged in wildlife observation, forest ecology and related nature-oriented pursuits.
The trick is to find a balance between safe and fun - railings are a must, as are sturdy supports, but whimsy and asymmetry help make these places feel more organic and engaging for younger visitors in particular.
Some take on the character of a playground, with ropes, ladders and low elevations - or are more like the traditional club-house spaces we associated with 'tree houses' from our childhood.
Some are like mansions, fortresses or castles - just set up on stilts instead of sitting on the ground.
Still others (were it not for the color in the pictures) seem timeless or like they could have been constructed in the Middle Ages - until you reach their incredible contemporary interiors at least.
On the inside, Blue Forest tends to go for a combination of styles - modern simplicity with rustic natural wood-panel walls and floors with straw-infill wooden ceiling structures that feel like something between a rustic tropical resort hotel and modern rural house or home.

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Crystal Ice House by Greg Holm dan Mathew Radune

What happens when you take one of over 20,000 abandoned homes in Detroit and call attention to it in the middle of winter … by pouring gallon after gallon of water over the roof until it is covered from top to bottom – windows, walls, plants and all – with ice?
For one thing, the resulting crystals are incredible – unique frozen snowflakes, but super-sized and surrounding every square inch of this installation art project. Moreover, making this structure melt-proof during the day is tougher than you might imagine. Cross-breezes, continuously-added liquid and other cooling strategies were employed to keep the ‘icing’ on this project.
Aesthetics aside, however, this ‘remodel’ is of course designed to remind people of just how many homes are left to rot in our current economic crisis as well as in general within the city limits of hard-up towns like this poster-child Michigan city.
A collaborative project by photographer Greg Holm and Mathew Radune, this Ice House structure – already bound for destruction – will be demolished after the architectural installation is complete and the proceeds as well as the property itself will go to deserving local family for reuse and, ultimately, the reconstruction of a replacement home.

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Pyramid tent House

The juxtaposition of such lifestyle extremes – fixed-space suburban living and nomadic world-travel dwelling – makes for a fascinating conceptual challenge. It was, in fact, similarly neighboring opposites that gave rise to the idea in the mid of design student living on a lovely nature-filled campus but surrounded by suburbia on all sides.
John Paananen took it upon himself to discover what would happen if he were to make over one of the most mobile kinds of traditional buildings – the tipi, with inspiration from its yurt, tent and igloo cousins – turning it into a stationary home with all of the creature comforts to be found in contemporary suburbs.
Instead of a portable and organically-evolved design, he chose to force-fit the general shape and style of a conventional nomadic dwelling into the space and settings. Rather than put the emphasis on easy construction (and deconstruction) for living on the move, the construction methods and materials follow those of a typical suburban house – complete with a wood frame and artificial siding (no poles and soft materials one would expect).
The results? a translucent-skinned, semi-solid structure that lacks the mobility of a historic yurt, tent or tipi – almost a parody of (or at least a commentary on) the static nature of modern dwellings. Furnished in clean and casual style, the interior gives a strange not to nature via a forest printed in photo-realistic fashion on the wall. So is this art, architecture or something else? That only you can judge – but it sure looks more comfortable than what most people take camping. Still, if you are looking for one on sale look elsewhere: this one-off design was anything but cheap and easy to buy parts for and assemble – which, in a way, is part of the point.

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Natural Scenery

Looks like a tree hugger designed this one! The space reflects a deep sense of oneness with natural surroundings. The living room area opens into the view of a lovely tree. The golden, wooden and green hues and the tons of natural lighting give the room the feel of walking through a forest in the spring time. Elements like bowls of fruit and the multi textured wooden furniture used in the living room, kitchen and the bedrooms convey the diversity of nature. The bedroom retains a sense of more privacy with the use of monochromes. The intelligent use of the natural light itself to become a part of the décor reinforces the spirit of natural surroundings.

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House at Astrid Hill as great independent architecture

K2LD is a great independent architecture company that have some real treasures in their design portfolio.

“The senses mold the intricate relationship between time, light and materials to allow spatial freedom that is beautiful in ti’s myriad of expressions.

Taming these exciting relationships materializes in an architectural experience. The Sensibilities of Architecture advocates an understanding of the ways the natural beauty of materials can be brought out in construction,enhancing the imaginative appreciation of the way in which materials play an integral part in design.

We believe design emerges form intensive dialogs with the clients and sensitive study of the site and the client’s brief. We strive to investigate design solutions inline with current developments in architectural technologies and expressions, while capturing space and light in tangible form and to give a meaning to architecture.”

One of most appealing features of the house is this swimming pool and courtyard below. From this picture you can see all the clean lines and linear graphic forms that the architects have incorporated into the design of the house. Plus the oversized bricks add a quirky feel and some added texture too.

The same linear design theme has been extended trough the interior and furniture as well as the facade of the house. It is clear that much of the focus for the architects was put into making the space both light and airy. This has mainly been achieved by using large windows and glass doors and also by using white on most walls.

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House of art architecture and technology

Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living envisions the house of the future as a place for new spatial experiences, new systems of sustainability and new sensory enhancements. This open-ended exhibition and multi-faceted research initiative, incorporating Art Center research studios, as well as a series of public programs, encourages creative individuals to make a substantial contribution to the dialogue on how we will live in the future.

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