Modern Tree House Massage Studio

Modern Tree House Massage Studio

Here is a modern, and well appointed, tree house from Texas. Kent Portman's treehouse sits in a 100 year old Pecan tree and has air conditioning, heating and a skylight.

The 140 square feet treehouse cost $48,000 to build over 4 months. And Portman uses it for daily meditation, as a guest house, and as a studio to conduct massage therapy.

Despite the solid construction (roof and walls built to code and the use of weather proof doors and windows) I wonder how the branches passing through the wall are sealed. In my experience it is nearly impossible to prevent moisture from running down the branch.

Oftentimes rubber inner tube material can be used to make a flexible gasket. However, the living tree passing through the interior space is an inherent host to moisture and flora. The worst case scenario is a potential for musty smelling mildew and mold accumulation. Nothing a bit of extra housekeeping can't take care of.

I think Portman has created a great little place for an alternate business / studio get-away. And, to build it to code with steel supports means it will last a very long time. I also like the spiral stair case used to get up to the deck.

Visit www.treehousemassage.com for more information on Kent's massage therapy business and to see pictures from the construction process.

[Via Statesman.com]

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Soviet Era Treehouse on the Beach

Soviet Era Treehouse on the Beach

Some great photos from the gallery showing CCCP : FRÈDÈRIC CHAUBIN>at the Storefront for Art and Architecture.

This one, "Druzhba” (Yalta, Ukraine, 1985) by Architect Igor Vasilevsky, appeals to me as the logical up scale extension of a stilt tree house.

This creation has been taken far beyond the scale of trees and houses and onto the level of towers and apartment blocks.

Treehouse -> Towerblock?

Anyhow, there certainly are advantages to an elevated view.

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Kaikoura Treehouse Resort in New Zealand

Kaikoura Treehouse Resort in New Zealand

News article and video available via OneNEWS

Hapuku Lodge spokesperson Tony Wilson talks about the five new rooms they built high in a canopy of manuka trees in Kaikoura, New Zealand.

The primary attraction to tree houses is that the high vantage point provides guests with clear views of Kaikoura's dramatic mountains and surf-washed Pacific coastline. The Wilsons have five generations of architecture and design in the family and leveraged that talent to create the tree houses and expand their lodge.

The tree houses are designed to reflect the local environment. The exterior is clad with native woods and copper shingles and furniture is designed by the Wilson family and crafted by local woodworking friends. The houses themselves were constructed in an unusual way:

"The way to do it was build them on the ground and get a very expensive crane to pick them up one by one. So we put the legs in the ground, and then we built the box on the ground, and then we picked the box up and put it on top of the legs," says Wilson.

So, they're not exactly tree houses but they embody the spirit none-the-less. For more information visit their site at: www.hapukulodge.com

Also see previous blog entry: New Zealand Treehouse

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Luxury Treehouse Retreat in France

Luxury Treehouse Retreat in France

Via article from CNN titled:
Branching Out with Luxury Treehouses
By Julie Clothier

[Link to article]

CNN has an article in their Travel Section about a treehouse retreat in the south of France. Diane Van den Berge created Orion B&B -- a bed and breakfast with four full size tree houses in Saint-Paul de Vence between Cannes and Nice.

Each adult oriented tree house is fitted to a level of detail expected from a hotel room: spacious beds, wooden baths, open massage showers, power, and even an Internet cable connection.

The smallest house is 20 square meters (215 square feet) and stands three and a half meters (11.5 feet) off the ground. The biggest is 40 square meters (430 square feet).

"People are curious, happy, amazed. It gives such a different feeling. Being away from the ground makes you feel free, away from being realistic, pragmatic. It's a different feeling . . . We've created a little paradise here," she says.

Prices during the peak season are quoted to start from 180 euros per night for two people including breakfast.

For more information visit their site at: orionbb.com

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