Comments on: VIDEO: Grow a Treehouse with Terreform

By: d l s

d l s — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:01:56 +0000

Crunch, crunch, crunch! Is that a deer eating the bark off my home? That means soon my suffering structure will die and cave in on my head. Oh well, I was tired of being eaten alive by ticks, snakes, and spiders anyway. (Spray poison on God’s creatures? Never!)
Seriously: one needs a climate and ecology that only exists in Hawaii, and a large very piece of wooded property in order to start new homes perpetually. That way when nature takes its course with the first home, one simply moves next door, and so on down the row. I’ve seen this done in remote areas of Oahu, but elsewhere? Hmmmm

By: Mariam

Mariam — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:27:34 +0000

Great Idea! I like the idea to be so close to a tree. A living being just next to me. NIce communication with the tree I can imagine. Healing. And the house is in a process like we human beings. No stable concrete walls that give me a quare and artifical feeling. Nature around me!! Great!! Wishing you success and that there will be many tree houses in the next future!

By: buddamind

buddamind — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:25:02 +0000

How amazing to see people reconnect and live in harmony with the Earth.
Your readers should know this is of course not for everyone, and one time a tree
grew out of a crack in the roof of my building in NYC. by the time I left there
it was quite tall and strong…growing on no dirt. The Earth is amazing.
Once I saw a tree in New Zealand that I knew people had lived under, you
could just feel it. I sat there with my mom for some hours just feeling how that tree has sustained and held a family.
We are a culture of convienience and disconnection, as a result people all over the world suffer.
People who are thinking like these designers are at least thinking!

By: Modular Buildings

Modular Buildings — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:29:54 +0000

Very inspiring!

Ever since a child i have loved the idea of a tree house.

Although this is certainly way better than my tree houses it would be no good to me as i suffer from hayfever.

Also i think many people who do not like the idea of creepy crawlies would find this home a nightmare!

By: elizahleigh

elizahleigh — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:47:43 +0000

Thanks so much for covering the latest project by this team of eco-architect visionaries. I wasn’t aware that this kind of design existed, but it is so sensible in my opinion since it takes advantage of the natural protection inherant in a simple tree. Built-in insulation, shade, durabilty and beauty plus a direct source of life-giving oxygen? What more could the inhabitant want or ask for? I can imagine that people in these type of dwellings would truly thrive, and I don’t think that this structure would appeal soley to greenies like me. Thanks again — very inspiring, indeed!

By: Wyatt ODay

Wyatt ODay — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:26:12 +0000

Well, he has got one thing right, he is not an Architect. Fine idea, but I seriously hope this tree house is never built. All the energy going into that rapid prototyping (CNC) and the energy of just waiting for your house to “grow”, is WAY more than the energy to create a great piece of sustainable architecture. You have some publicity on the design and idea, now drop it and move on to something realistic.

By: Professor H

Professor H — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:58:57 +0000

I love trees, and want to live in a treehouse. I love this concept,… but the branches would grow, die, shift, et cetera. This idea is best suited for a Harry Potter movie, to tickle our imaginations, but good for little else.

By: Steve Baker

Steve Baker — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:54:48 +0000

How will your tree like your heating and airconditioning? What happens if your house dies? He says that the walls are made using clay/straw – which is great – but you can build houses out of that stuff without the tree. What do we need the tree for? Most of the things that make building a house an ecological nightmare are still there. You still need solid floors – wiring, plumbing, heating, A/C, kitchen cabinets, carpets….all you saved was the structural timber…which is in no way the biggest impact from building a house. As far as I can see – the tree part of the structure ends up being just decorative…and it’s ongoing lifecycle will gradually tear apart the ACTUAL structure – which is the clay/straw…if the activities of the humans inside don’t kill it first.

It’s a cute idea – but it’s really a non-starter.

By: Disinn

Disinn — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:31:35 +0000

That’s a awesome idea!

Remember that the tree trunk is one of the strongest columns. So i’m thinking you can build very tall estates. You can build one floor, wait till it grows a bit more, like wait for your kids to grow up and build an other floor.

Like with all technology, it needs high investment but unlike new technology this is already practical. Growing trees straight or in a planned direction is surly not new.

By: Re-leaf

Re-leaf — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:24:05 +0000

I think I’m missing something…how is the tree form actually manipulated? It’s woven through a framework? So what is the frame or formwork made out of that’s used to shape the vegetation (and doesn’t that defeat the purpose if a structure has to be built in order to form the exterior planting wall structure)? I want to like this idea but am looking for some clarification…

By: Cantankerous

Cantankerous — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Nice idea but why not look at using something like bamboo which is much faster growing.

I still prefer the EcoDome igloo concept I saw at the UN World Habitat Awards http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm.

By: Emma St.

Emma St. — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:53:16 +0000

As a student of interior design, I love the idea. I’m learning a bit about green design in my community college program (it’s unavoidable these days) though not nearly enough. The level of info we receive is neither radical enough nor particularly truthful. DuPont and vinyl wallcovering companies call themselves “green” because they’ve jumped through certification hoops to earn the designation.

There are many levels of green to be adressed including preservation and/or containment and/or recycling of what already exists. May Terraform make rapid progress with their radical plans. With fundamentally practical plans such as theirs, we will not need designers or architects- only engineers who understand the natural environmet and artists. Design will arise naturally from the function of useful items.

By: Betty Yuan

Betty Yuan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:30:50 +0000

The picture seems beautiful.But it\’s still on the ground. Maybe it can fly in the sky. Besides i can not imagine living in it. The trunks will grow stronger and stronger.how can it be permanently stable?
but i do like the pic. it\’s really green.

By: Grow a Treehouse! « The Intelligencer: Oddities & Curiosites

Grow a Treehouse! « The Intelligencer: Oddities & Curiosites — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:42:35 +0000

[...] Grow a Treehouse! http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/20/video-grow-a-living-treehouse-with-terreform/ [...]

By: zw.l

zw.l — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:41:40 +0000

Very creative