Reflective Skin Treehouse

Reflective Skin Treehouse

New computer generated images of the Harad's tree hotel designed by Sweden's Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter have been released.

The Harad's is an aluminum skinned cube set in a single tree. The choice of exterior materials makes sense: aluminium is light weight, weather resistant, and can be polished to a mirror shine.

This reflective characteristic of the skin makes it blend in with the environment much like a hunting blind. I would expect it will provide a great views of the local wildlife and stay cool in the hot summer months.

The plan calls for a small kitchen, terrace, living area and sleeping area. The bathroom will likely be located on the ground somewhere nearby -- a situation common for most treehouses.

My own impression is that there is a stark visual contrast between the pure abstract form of the silver cube with the surrounding forest. I'd be interested to see what lessons are learned from this prototype and if the idea can be applied to building treehouses with more organic curves and rounded shapes.