Tree House People of New Guinea

Tree House People of New Guinea

Here is a site about another bamboo tree house styled in the tropics. Its in Indonsia where there are purportedly primitive cannibalistic tribes who live in treehouses.

This photo is the work of the Korowai people who are living a stone age existence. It is amazing to me that they can build such structures with nothing from the modern world: They only use stone and bone tools, and everything is made of plants, vines and tree bark.

The additional danger involved in lashing a home like this together at such heights makes these building feats all the more extraordinary. I find myself wondering if there is a connection between the presence of cannibalism, even among themselves, and the desire to build homes at such heights. Could treehouses, even dangerously high ones, provide a survival benefit?

I can't help but reflect on the modern skyscrapers in the city where I live and how they imply an elevated defensive posture. They are largely removed from interaction with the public street level, enabling the residents more security through controlled access, and a sense of safety and superiority from a lofty perch. And there is a cultural parallel in that a form of market/financial cannibalism exists in the modern business world much like that of the primitive biological kind attributed to the Korowai.

Or, perhaps there is another motivation. Mabey the design is more like a watch tower, enabling the Korowai a broad view of the terrain, and perhaps a direct line of sight for communication with other homes over long distances. I'm thinking of parallels to the crenulated stone towers on castles from the medieval history. A castle typically controlled the amount of land it could survey from its towers. And, the high walls offered inaccessibility to keep invaders out and offered defenders an elevated advantage in fighting them off. For people of a lesser technological capacity, a tree house could provide all these advantages, too.

When there exists a threat of predators, particularily clever human ones, I see a pattern of positioning one's self high out of reach as a desirable defensive strategy (with other benefits like a good view).

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Bamboo Treehouse

Bamboo Treehouse

This site features a vacation treehouse rental in Puerto Rico.

Nicknamed the "Sunset Hooch", this self-sufficient treehouse features a stove, cooler, 12 volt lighting, shower, solar hot water, and a flush toilet.

Notice that bamboo stilts are used to support the structure on a steep slope. Technically this is not a tree house, since bamboo is a grass, but the tropical design qualifies in my books.

One of the main advantages to this approach is that it is not necessary to climb stairs or ladders into the place. Instead, the elevated platform on a slope can be much more accessible via flat walkway, or suspension bridge, from the hillside above.

I like that the Sunset Hooch provides a good example of how geography is an important part of treehouse design. In this case, a steep slope that is normally unsuitable to build a traditional house on can be ultilized to great advantage: Steeply sloped land is cheaper to obtain, a hillside provides better views, and the elevation can provide a flat access walkway to your treehouse.

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Red Oak House

Red Oak House

An article in the Chronicle Herald features a treehouse in Prarie Grove Ark. that has been under construction for more than six years.

Idlet, 52, had the desire to build a real house nestled in the trees on his land in northwestern Arkansas. It's about the size of a studio apartment, a one-room cabin in the air, with a kitchen, loft, and self composting toilet.

It sits among the trunks of three red oak trees, which come up through the deck, and six steel poles provide additional support. It moves and shakes slightly, which takes a little getting used to, but eventually feels as natural as the gentle swaying of the trees themselves.

When the treehouse is complete, he hopes to use it as a study in the woods — a place where he can play music and write new songs. "It’ll always be a work in progress, it’s just never going to be over with."

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