Tree hotel / Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter

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An interesting concept for a camouflaged hotel on a tree by Swedish architects Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter:

The concept is to create a shelter up in the trees, a lightweight aluminum structure hung around a tree trunk, boxes clad in mirrored glass, 4x4x4 meters. The exterior reflects the surroundings and the sky, creating a camouflaged refuge. The interior is all made of plywood and the windows give a 360 degree view.

The functions provides a living for two people, a double bed, a small kitchen and bathroom, a living room and roof terrace. The access to the cabin is by a rope ladder or a rope bridge.

To prevent birds fly into the windows, transparent stickers, visible for birds, will be added to the facades.

 
 
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hollenberger says:

camouflaged ??? … i can see all the dead birds and bats. broken necks and smashed heads …

 
# February 25, 2009 at 06:59
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    alon says:

    just a small detail u forggot
    bats guide them selfs threw sonar
    they dont use their eyes for flying
    but birds might
    never the less still an intersting project

     
    # August 30, 2009 at 02:38
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    afraa says:

    if you just take a minute off the dead birds (lol) this design is something really good…i mean who thinks of such designs in this trend of glass , steel and contemprary..!!!

     
    # December 11, 2009 at 10:37
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    a says:

    mirrors have UV film applied, visible to birds

     
    # November 16, 2010 at 19:37
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brianbuchalski says:

yeah, dead birds are the first thing the came to my mind too. i’d be curious to know if the “transparent stickers, visible to birds” actually work. i have not heard of these before.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 07:13
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temple says:

молодцы !!! realy nice concept! respect guys

 
# February 25, 2009 at 07:19
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Ceno says:

-How much it will cost? Is it worth to built?
-It seems so small for me and doesn’t seem comfortable

 
# February 25, 2009 at 09:20
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sz says:

hey hollenberger, bats do not look, bats ‘hear’ the way.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 09:25
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Vin says:

No openable window? …that is so sad

It might feel like living in a fish tank then.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 09:30
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nix says:

…a small kitchen and bathroom? where?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 09:48
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Scott says:

I understand how the door on the second story works in combination with the terrace (although it could stand to be taller).

My question is, where does the door on the first floor lead to?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 10:02
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Opium says:

dan grahm rules

 
# February 25, 2009 at 10:17
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Skitts says:

I bealive sans tein windows for view and shower+kitchen at the entrance

 
# February 25, 2009 at 10:18
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JuanJGarita says:

How can you we inside of the 1s floor? Volando…
Why can use another material in the windows? i agree with hollenberger and brianbuchalski, you are in the forest, and is a place with many flying animals.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 10:22
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Nick says:

How do you get up / in / out?

Interesting concept.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 10:36
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richie says:

I don’t want to be there with a little bit of wind.Can you image that?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 11:08
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dc599 says:

at first sight, cool……but um, what is the point again? just a visual effect? for who, the forest animals?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 11:18
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ormac says:

what happen when the tree grows?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 11:25
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pedro, from rio de janeiro says:

hard structure fixed on a flexible tree…

 
# February 25, 2009 at 12:11
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Lillabuj says:

I like it. Really attractive and also feels like a comment on the swedish way of life. Nice to see a swedish office taking a critical view on stuff for once

 
# February 25, 2009 at 17:13
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ben says:

whats with all the bitching ?//

this rocks!

 
# February 25, 2009 at 19:07
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Kim says:

what happen when the tree collapes or when there is strong wind?

 
# February 25, 2009 at 23:08
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Alex says:

“How do you get up / in / out?

Interesting concept.”

read the article. trust me it’s in there.

 
# February 25, 2009 at 23:44
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Izaac says:

Its a treehouse. Its designed with the knowledge that one day it’s going to fall down. Its also not a home (hopefully). Its an expensive version of a child’s dream. I think it is awesome, but yes, its less functional than a retreat cabin and its not for the average person. View it as a really cool adult fort, not a condo.

 
# February 26, 2009 at 02:58
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chicago g says:

fantastic adventure!

 
# February 26, 2009 at 03:31
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Lazo says:

the idea is sooooo old …
my professor at University of Belgrad made such hotel rooms for 4 years . with great details …
he also used the tree growing.
you can see the project on his page: milanmijalkovic.com

 
# February 26, 2009 at 04:19
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Lillabuj says:

you’re old!

 
# February 26, 2009 at 07:54
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carmen says:

hey! hey! hey!! come on, guys! it´s just for fun! a nice “corner” to spend a weekend, have a tea, read a book…it´s not meant to be a proyect, just a sensation (b.t.w. poor birds… :P )

 
# February 26, 2009 at 14:48
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Robert says:

Poor tree… It grew up happily, and then a man came into the forest and hunged such a heavy rack sack on its back… Let’s respect nature, ARCHITECTS. For God’s sake…

 
# February 26, 2009 at 16:54
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Armann says:

A cool idea isn’t necessarily a good idea.

 
# February 27, 2009 at 07:34
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dZ says:

For me this is just a bad intent of mankind to live amoung nature. The temporality is minimum, is it worth it? Do the architects actually went to the place and test the design with nature factors or is this another “rendered solution” for “cool projects”?

 
# February 27, 2009 at 11:44
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sakshi says:

its choking…..
where are the stairs…. how do you get up…

its good to think different and new but if we want it in actual terms.. we need to be much more practical. with the world with a lot of issues to think over like sustainablity…. creative ideas like these would be appreciable if they are of some help…. rather than just heck of making something.

 
# February 27, 2009 at 11:54
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Troy Lemieur says:

I never see any thought on insects and animals that use the tree to sustain themselves with, as a highway to the canopy or live in the bark.
It’s like.. well shit, lets block off this perfectly fine habitat and make an uneccessary box that probably damages the tree and all other creatures that depend on it.
Sustainable living (or in this case, vacationing) should probably be based in the earth to minimize damage to ecosystems. There are other ways to get that factor of ‘fun’ associated with a tree house.

 
# February 27, 2009 at 13:47
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twishinky says:

how many units across so many square meters will it take to build? seems a bit iffy for the trees, the forest etc…

and what’s a transparent sticker that only birds can see?

 
# March 2, 2009 at 05:50
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J.Lo says:

Nice images, but not worth publishing…

 
# March 2, 2009 at 07:01
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mc says:

it is a so sad project…getting into nature just for avoiding it. Sad as a project, sad as an exercise.

 
# March 2, 2009 at 19:15
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gus says:

what if the tree went swinging?

 
# March 3, 2009 at 10:04
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ESMA says:

very nice.

 
# March 6, 2009 at 03:46
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rc says:

It’s an awesome idea. Let’s tear down the cities, plant new forests, and make camouflaged cities.

Most building effects the environment. If developing this into something bigger is possible then I much prefer that to stripping the land to make housing and shopping development. At least this is working with the surroundings rather than destroying them completely.

 
# March 12, 2009 at 16:02
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Jon says:

WoWee, Wow!
some of you folks need to take your medications.
this is one of the best ideas i’ve seen all year and it’s only march! this is a predominantly negative discussion thread. what is every one so worked up about? we need to be more like ewoks and less like robots living in this world and using up all of it’s resources.

 
# March 12, 2009 at 17:36
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Martin says:

thanks, you made me laugh.

Let´s make camouflaged cities!

How do you take water, electricity and gas to the top of the tree? How do you get into the house?
It´s just a cool idea, as someone said before.

 
# March 12, 2009 at 17:58
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my 2 cents says:

a similar treehouse was built in the muskoka area of northern ontario (canada) by Shim-Sutcliffearchitects. unfortunately i could find links to the cottage but not the associated treehouse. you all may have better luck.

 
# April 4, 2009 at 17:56
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my 2 cents says:

a similar treehouse was built in the muskoka area of northern ontario (canada) by Shim-Sutcliffe architects. unfortunately i could find links to the cottage but not the associated treehouse. you all may have better luck.

 
# April 4, 2009 at 17:56
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jlbr says:

just let the damn trees alone!

 
# April 4, 2009 at 19:59
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you’re critizing that great building because it’s environmental impact, and i’ll just leave here a question for all of you,

what’s better a big building destroying many trees and birds places, or this kind of minimalist building with zero impact on the environment?
Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter didn’t want to became a monster in a forest, and you can notice it on their project…

 
# April 14, 2009 at 10:14
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Harry Wild says:

Its a very special house for very special people

 
# May 7, 2009 at 02:28
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humble opinion says:

It is an embarrassment for architecture. An unedited and raw thought of the imagination. Architecture is the editing of an idea and a chain of choices from a myriad of possibilities. This project lacks both.

How does someone gets in?out? How does someone gets to the second “floor”? How does heat gain and circulation work? What is the relation between the inside and outside? Are there any visual connections to the environment? (other than the negative impact on the wild life, especially birds)

The fact that the renderings show a perfect cube without the void seen on section b-b or the deck, shows the prematurity of this project.

 
# August 30, 2009 at 14:53
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1GR3 says:

so unnatural! like tin can left in the woods.

 
# August 31, 2009 at 07:23
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Science friday says:

@ humble opinion
If you take a moment longer to look at the plans you’ll see that the railing on the deck is mirrored glass as well, from the exterior this would look like a cube. Another nice rendering would be an exterior perspective with people on the deck… floating heads. I love this project, hopefully the uv film works on the birds.

 
# December 25, 2011 at 12:41
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12:27 PM Nov 3rd

Check out: "Tree hotel / Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/3qvusb )

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5:20 PM Sep 14th

Share of the day! Tham & Videgård: http://t.co/oxkWFvS guest lecturing at Chalmers next wednesday, 21 sept 18.00.

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11:39 PM Dec 14th

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