Ultimate Tree House Exhibits: Designs Suitable for Burningman

Ultimate Tree House Exhibits: Designs Suitable for Burningman

The Ultimate Tree House Exhibit is now on display at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

The event displays 13 entries from a variety of architects and landscape architects. All examples are accessible for the disabled and child safe.

The designs are all oriented toward new ways to merge the garden, landscape plants, play structures, and trees into a thematically unified creation. And, they look fantastcal enough to be at home at the Burningman art festival.

I personally like the slatted tulip walls of "Ultimate Blooms". This construction method may have value for creating strong and lightweight walls for a tree house in combination with suspended cable attachments.

The other two pieces, "Tree-House" and "FlutterBy" are interesting concepts using sail cloth and mesh screen for walls and shade structures. This type of approach makes a lot of sense particularly with weight sensitive installations in trees. And, it allows the designer to create more organic forms not possible with wood alone.

Althought none of these exhibits are tree houses -- defined by the hard core as livible structures supported entirely by trees -- they are good representations of multidisciplinary design ingenuity. How many times do landscapers, architects, horticulturists, and artists get together and collaborate on something like this?

What I admire most about this exhibit is how it champions the idea that a garden, a tree landscape, and human use shelters may be designed into synergistic units. And, that it is possible to be fun, functional, and green all in one compact backyard design.

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Treetops Treehouse Attraction: A Steel Framed Mansion.

Treetops Treehouse Attraction: A Steel Framed Mansion.

Here is an article about the Treetops Treehouse at the Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY.

This treehouse is a six story structure, nearly 50 feet high, designed for children to climb and play in much like an oversized set of monkey bars.

I must point out, however, that it is not really a treehouse. This is more of an open walled steel framed building decorated to appear like a treehouse:

"Strategically placed sticks, branches and ivy conceal the solid underpinnings of the 670-square-foot structure, an elaborate network of pressurized beams, nets and cables".

The building is located in a nature centre and the towering structure is both a play environment for kids and a viewing platform to survey the mature deciduous forest. From the various floors, visitors can gain a perspective on forest life from ground level to the top heights of the forest canopy.

I think this is a nice themed attraction piece even if somewhat misleading on the "treehouse" advertising part. But, it is also evidence to me that the popularity of treehouses can serve as a unique draw for tourism. And, it lends some credibility to the idea that a tree house can be safe, strong, and fun.

The best part for me is that some of the visitors will experience the Treetops Treehouse and be moved to go home and make their own.

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