Treehouses | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

baumraum’s Tiny, Precariously Perched Tree House in New York

Ahh, what we wouldn't give right now to be sitting in this exquisitely tiny tree top perch overlooking some breezy green hills - instead of cooped up in our sweltering city apartments! Well for one New York family (with some very lucky children), the dream is a reality. They actually get to live in this amazing tree house near the Hudson River, which was designed just for them by specialists baumraum. The somewhat dangerous-looking dwelling is connected to the rocky cliffside by a superthin catwalk, and features a killer balcony/deck that is almost the same size as the miniature living space.

Gorgeous Mirror-Walled Treehouse Hotel Now Officially Open!

If you’ve been there and done that, here’s something that you definitely haven’t checked out yet — this gorgeous mirror-walled treehouse hotel just opened in Sweden, and is now accepting reservations! So if you feel like the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty are *yawn*, we definitely encourage you to check out this prefabricated treehouse escape this summer – and don’t forget to …

Hang Nga “Crazy House” is a Creepy Fairy Tale Treehouse in Vietnam

We’ve seen some cool treehouses here at Inhabitat, but never as zany as this creepy hotel in Dalat, Vietnam. Unlike regular treehouses, which sit upon the branches of trees, the Hang Nga Guesthouse (a.k.a. “Crazy House”) actually is a tree (although some of it is concrete and other materials). Named for the architect who built it, Hang Viet Nga, the spooky hotel is known for its Alice in Wonderlandish, dark fairy tale mood and wildly organic twists and turns. Would you stay at this weird and wonderful treehouse retreat?

Warsaw Library Sprouts a House on a Tree

Designboom points us to this quirky House on a Tree art installation, which recently sprung up at the University of Warsaw Library. Designed by the Warsaw Art-curator Collective konarska-konarski the morphic public installation is intended to raise awareness of sustainable development and consists of one house set in a tree and another hovering within the library’s walls.

World’s Tallest Treehouse Was Commissioned by the Almighty

At a staggering 10 stories high, this treehouse — or more like tree cathedral — is the world’s tallest. The builder, Horace Burgess, claims that when God told him to build it he vowed that he would never run out of materials, and since then the clergyman has already found enough reclaimed wood to make the fantastic structure 100 ft tall. Read on …

Incredible Crysalis Treehouse Restaurant Completed in New Zealand

We first showcased this incredible treehouse restaurant nearly two years ago while it was still in its design phase, and we were recently thrilled to see pictures of the completed structure! The Redwoods Treehouse near Auckland, New Zealand is a wonderland of cocoons and walkways built in a redwood forest out of sustainably-harvested pine and poplar slats and locally-milled redwood balustrading. Natural light shines through the slats into the restaurant interior located 40 meters above the ground. Since its completion the treehouse has claimed multiple honors and awards.

Elevated Living’s Hooked Up Eco-Friendly Tree Houses

These aren’t your granddaddy’s treehouses! Elevated Living takes, well, elevated living (as their name implies) to the next level with their souped up green tree homes which feature outdoor living spaces, play structures, decks, fully functional …

World’s Tallest Treehouse Built From Reclaimed Wood

When God told Horace Burgess to build a treehouse, he promised that Burgess would never run out of materials. So far he hasn’t. Using tons of reclaimed wood, Burgess has built a 10 story treehouse in Crossville, Tennessee. Burgess claims it is the world’s largest treehouse and since no one has disputed him yet, his fantastic 100 foot tall structure continues its reign. Known as the Minister’s Treehouse, it should not be confused with the world’s tallest wooden building soon to be built, because its foundation is an 80-foot-tall white oak tree.

Mobile Treehouse: Log Cabin on Wheels Sells for $12K on eBay

Online auctions are an easy way to browse for a dream residence without the use of your four-wheel gas guzzler, but the recent sale of a particular mobile home is far from your ordinary listing. A lucky Australian bidder just won the ownership of a portable, yet grandiose, “log” cabin – literally made to emulate an enormous log. The auction winner paid AU$14,000 (just over 12k USD) for what is essentially a trailer measuring just over 42 feet in length that provides over 450sq ft of living space. The auction listing explains that the log is mobile – sitting on a truck bed equipped with wheels and brakes for easy towing – but that left us wondering about the unit’s green credentials, and exactly where did a huge log on wheels come from in the first place?

ANIMAL WALL: Deluxe Apartments For Birds and Bats

You don’t often hear about a wall being an object of desire, but that is exactly what Gitta Gschwendtner’s Animal Wall is for residents of all species in Cardiff Bay, UK. This 50-meter wall includes 1000 houses for birds and bats, and also acts as a textural and geometric sculptural divider between a residential development and a river front. Commissioned by Charles Church Developments, the wall took two-and-a-half years to construct, which is the same length of time it took to complete the housing that the wall shields.

Baumraum’s Froschköenig Treehouse

Sitting atop thin steel stilts, the Froschköenig Treehouse conjures up ideas of a space pod just landed among a canopy of trees. Designed by well-known treehouse designer and manufacturer, Baumraum, the prefabricated treehouse features a futuristic, curved zinc roof enveloping a more rustic-feeling tatajuba wood foundation to create a whimsical hideaway for kids and adults.READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

Prefabricated Shelters Offer a Jungle Eco-Retreat

Sitting among the canopy of a jungle forest near Yelapa, Mexico, these V-Houses by Heinz Legler are quite possibly an eco-adventurer’s paradise. The treehouse-like structures are lofted 16 feet above the ground and open on all sides to offer panoramic views of the tropical surroundings. Although the rooms measure only 16 feet by 16 feet, a slanted ceiling and open walls make the treehouse seem larger — blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors. And to top off this eco-dream of a jungle retreat, the V-Houses were designed with modular components, made with sustainable materials, and have incorporated solar panels, composting toilets, and a greywater system.

World’s First Tower Made of Hundreds of Living Trees

Treehouses are nothing new to enterprising kids, but a group of architects at the University of Stuttgart in Germany have brought a new twist to the idea: the first tower made entirely out of living trees. The “baubotanical” building, which measures 9 meters high with a base area of 8 square meters, is made up of hundreds of White Willow plants, which will eventually fuse together to form a single, giant mega tree.

Living Growing Root Bridges Are 100% Natural Architecture

In the forests of Meghalaya, India, the War-Khasis people have discovered a patient way of crossing the many rivers of their wet region. By guiding the roots of an abundant species of rubber tree, they were able to create a living system of bridges that are in some cases over one hundred feet long and can support the weight of 50 people!

SNUGGLES: Stay in a Modular Hamster Tunnel Hotel

This modular, mobile Snuggles hotel allows you to shack up in pods for an artsy camping experience not dissimilar to staying in oversized hamster cage tunnels. The project crosses the boundaries of temporary architecture and public art with its linkable framework, configurable platforms, and waterproof textile coverings. Able to be set up on a beach, in the forest, or in an urban environment, Snuggles offers a fun experience that’s on par with even the trendiest hostels.

Ladonia: A Micronation Made of Driftwood and Nails

Looking for a change of scenery? Consider moving to Ladonia, a micronation made up of driftwood, nails, and nine-story wooden “fortresses” located in the southwest corner of Sweden. Designed by Lars Vilks, the mock nation consists of two works of art: Nimis, a maze of 70 tons of driftwood and nails, and Arx, a stone and concrete sculpture that looks like a melting sandcastle.

‘Landscape Apertura’ Treehouse Frames Nature Exquisitely

Robert McLaughlin’s ‘Landscape Apertura‘ treehouse near Kansas City, offers calculated views into nature via six strategically placed, vibrant green frames. Each frame is designed to capture a specific outlook, which enables one to appreciate and focus on a small perspective of the expansive great outdoors. As thoughtfully crafted as its outward gazes, Landscape Apertura …

Japanese Treetop Tea House is “Built Too High”

The Japanese certainly have a penchant for out-of-this-world tree-top architecture, and this incredible Takasugi-an tea house is no exception. Designed by architect Terunobu Fujimori, the tree-bound tea house stands precariously perched upon the trunks of two timbers erected on a plot of family land in Chino, Nagano Prefecture.

PREFAB FRIDAY: EcoCoon Retreats

Lofted high above in the trees, Mathier Collos’ EcoCoon retreats are a conceptual design for prefabricated housing. Each of the London-based architect’s cocoon-like pod is outfitted with an array of sustainable features including rainwater collection, a greywater system, and biomass heating. And depending on the type of tree used and the tree branching density, solar panels can also be integrated to help make these pods as eco-sensitive as possible. The two-story, split-level retreats can comfortably accommodate two adults or a small family and larger models may be able to act as a small, quaint hostel with several guests.

Raindrop Shaped Treetents by Dré Wapenaar

Sylvan housing reaches new heights with these wonderful dewdrop shaped Treetents by Dutch sculptor and designer Dré Wapenaar. Originally designed to ease the lives of tree-sitting activists, they also make excellent treetop retreats for campers, kids, and anyone soothed by an evening spent softly swaying among the branches. Each beautifully formed droplet attaches directly to a tree trunk and is roomy enough to sleep a family of four.

New Zealand’s Whimsical Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

The new Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood first. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and makes extensive use of natural lighting throughout.

Up In the Trees: Madison Square Tree Huts

New York’s Madison Square Garden has taken on a Swiss-Family-Robinson feel lately. This is due to an art exhibition featuring work by Tadashi Kawamata called Madison Square Tree Huts, which emerged completed on October 2. A gathering of small wooden houses up in the trees, folks passing through the park might find themselves grinning upward with wonderment at these small structures meant to shake up our notion of public space and how it interacts with ideas of urbanity, rural romanticism and play.

Crazy Banyan Treehouse Cafe in Japan

Although this towering concrete treehouse isn’t really green, (unless tree imitation counts as ‘green’), we couldn’t help but be awestruck by its sheer craziness. We thought it worth a post, just for the picture alone. The Naha Harbor Diner in Okinawa, Japan is a life-size rendition of a banyan tree, also known as gajumaru. The aptly-named Banyan Town shopping center near the entrance of Onoyama Park features a twenty foot tall tree with a pan-Asian restaurant nestled amid its branches. Accessible by a spiral staircase around back and an in-trunk elevator, the restaurant specializes in locally grown and organic harvested foods fresh from the farm.

PREFAB FRIDAY: Retreat to an Ewok Eco Sphere in the Trees

What if we told you you could own your very own Ewok-meets-Aarnio hanging treehouse? Canada-based Tom Chudleigh creates these bubblicious Free Spirit Eco Spheres that sway amidst the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest. Available for purchase or for rent, they offer a whimsical new way to experience the outdoors.

BAUMRAUM: Stunning Treehouse Designs from Germany

There’s nothing like a tree-top dwelling to conjure up gilded memories of childhood adventures and endless summers. It’s even better when they’re put together as wonderfully as the ones by Baumraum, who specialize in arboreal abodes. The beautiful tree house above is one of many from Baumraum, serenely sequestered amid the woodlands of Germany where they act as playgrounds, conference spaces, and restful retreats.