Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on March 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Knowing how much many of you like tree houses, here is another example of the vernacular for you to admire, this time by Japanese architect, Terunobu Fujimori. (The Japanese seem to have a particular weakness for weird yet decorative tree houses.) Situated in Nagano, Japan, the structure is elevated 20 feet and sits atop two tree trunks. As Fujimori explains it: “One leg is dangerous and three legs are too stable and boring.”
Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on December 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Tree houses are fertile ground for folly builders and Blue Forest makes some gorgeous examples, as you can see in these pictures.
But while the setting and the materials may be all about getting back to the nature, inside they tell a different story.
Outside all is rural charm, inside the owner is ensconced in a cosy stylish wooden room with a flat screen television and a wine fridge. All this and peace and quiet too, what more could a discerning owner want?
Blue Forest’s founders Andy and Simon Payne grew up in East Africa where they spent their childhood enjoying the beauty and adventure of the great outdoors. According to their website their UK based company’s treehouses were born from these experiences and from a desire to bring other people closer to the natural world. Read more at www.blueforest.com
Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on February 10, 2011| 1 Comment »
“Built on vision and engineering these handcrafted spheres are suspended like pendants from a web of rope. They occupy a truly unique place in the world while providing a habitat for the un-tamed spirit that exists in us all and they can be found in a Vancouver forest.” (Designer: Tom Chudleigh)
Now my fellow folly fanciers, since so many of you seem to like treehouses, I thought I include a post about these wooden Free Spirit Spheres which are to be found on Vancouver Island. I must admit I thought there would be the usual seating and some rugs inside. That was until I watched the short video (here – on Youtube: )
Look it is fitted out with a table, a kitchenette and bunk beds. It is for all the world like a caravan in the treetops.
When I win the lottery and buy a secluded mansion and construct a full set of follies in its grounds, an aerial Caravan, sorry Free Spirit Sphere, will certainly be in there somewhere. I might camouflage mine to disappear into the treescape. For the present if I ever go to Vancouver Island, where they are situated, I shall surely rent Eve, Eryn or Melody overnight.
You can read more about these treehouses for adults at http://freespiritspheres.com/
Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on January 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant
by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd.
How could I have missed this? Yes it is a tree house, but what a tree house. One worthy of any folly builder’s aspirant dreams.
Resembling a huge chyrsalis grafted onto a 40 metre high redwood tree in forest just north of Auckland, New Zealand, the structure is built from plantation poplar slats with redwood balustrading milled at the site. It is flooded with natural light from overhead, high up in the tree tops. Access via a wooden walkway.
Inside a restaurant operated from December 2008 to February 2009 as part of a Yellow advertising campaign.At the conclusion of the campaign, ownership of the Treehouse passed to the landowner. They are now in the process of obtaining a resource consent to use the venue for private/corporate functions and events, rather than as a restaurant.
According to the official press release, when approached by Yellow Pages to design a treehouse, PEL jumped at the chance. “The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination,” say PEL. “It’s the treehouse we all dreamed of as children but could only do as an adult fantasy.” The project is indeed magical, located on a rise near the edge of a wood overlooking a stream.
Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on July 27, 2010| 2 Comments »
I know very little more about this than the information contained in the caption – that it is a Japanese tree house set among the cherry blossoms, effectively combining two Japanese traditions – drinking tea and admiring the cherry blossoms. It is not clear how you get up there from the low steps below.
I think it dates to around 2006.
This appears to be another variation on the same theme.
If anyone has any more information please feel free to comment.
Posted in Treehouse, tagged treehouse on December 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Well maybe not quite in the clouds, but still a thing of fantasy and the stuff folly fanciers dreams are made of. To celebrate Christmas 2009 and inspire you for 2010, here is a wonderful fantasy shed/folly/gazebo. I know only that it than that it is owned by Kathy Fries and can be found at the site www.shedstyle.com
Enjoy
Posted in Folly-esque, Modern Folly, Treehouse, tagged treehouse, treehouse hotel on April 30, 2009| 1 Comment »
The Baobab Hotel, Huilo Huilo, Chile
Hotels in tree houses are not a new concept. But the latest addition to the genre certainly takes the form to new heights.
Parque Huilo Huilo is a sprawling private nature reserve, midway between Neltume and Puerto Fuy, on the east side of Volcán Choshuenco (Choshuenco Volcano) in Chile. The Magic Mountain Hotel and the Baobab Hotel, in the parque were built by the same owners.
The Baobab is the newer of the two and built, as it name suggests, to resemble a baobob tree.
Lobby with fountain
Hotel Baobab Huilo Huilo Chile 3*
This beautiful Lodge opened in December 2007 and belongs to the same owners as the Montaña Mágica. The hotel resembles a baobab (monkey bread tree), which is quite high and their trunk is slender and gets broader the more you get up. The 55 modern rooms with magnificent views of the Mocho-Choschuenco Volcano are ordered spirally around an atrium, in which a huge tree is growing. The surrounding trees weren’t cut for this construction, but included into the architecture.
All the styling and decor is inspired by the natural surroundings and crafted by indigenous artists designing in wood from the area. Windows, walls, doors and stairs are all carved out of the local rustic woods. All rooms have private bathrooms and central heating as standard and penthouse suites offer the added luxury of hydro massage bath. An impressive panoramic elevator offers a magnificent view when visiting the nine floors of Baobab lodge. There are two restaurants offering gastronomic menus, and there is an international bar. exquisite gastronomical delights and an important international bar. Baobab is an ideal place to relax in a quiet natural setting.
View from a bedroom window
The hotel is nestled in the National Reserve of Huilo Huilo, in the Region of The Rivers, a park of 12.000 about 56 km / 35 miles from Panguipulli, just next to the Lodge Montaña Mágica. Prices: 01.04.2008-30.04.2009 Standard single 132 USD double 187 USD Triple 265 USD extra bed 52 USD booking service at Inns of Chile
Footnote: I have no connection with the owners of the Baobab and Magic Mountain hotels, but if they ever wished to invite me to make a more detailed report on site for you, I could be ready to travel at 24 hours notice!
Posted in Modern Folly, Treehouse, tagged architecture, Folly, mountain, treehouse, treehouse hotel, trees on April 30, 2009| 3 Comments »
OK so hotels aren’t strictly speaking follies, but when the owners have allowed themselves licence to indulge their imaginations to construct buildings which serve as hotels while at the same time indulging their wildest fantasies in design and construction, we let them in.
Hotels like the Magic Mountain in Chile are almost always found in the third world (or owned by rich and whimsical men and women), largely we assume because it is here they can be free of the worst excesses of centralised European planning. (Where are you Prince Charles?)
Two fantasy hotels have gone up in recent years, in the Parque Huilo Huilo, a sprawling private nature reserve, midway between Neltume and Puerto Fuy, on the east side of Volcán Choshuenco (Choshuenco Volcano) in southern Chile. These are the Magic Mountain and the Baobab Hotel, were built by the same owners. The Baobab is the newer of the two. I have made that into a separate entry.
Magic Mountain hotel, Huilo-Huilo, Chile
The Magic Mountain hotel is perhaps the most astonishing of the two. The hotel resembles from the outside, a cone built inside a waterfall. It is approached via an aerial walk way and the entrance is at the top of the hotel. Not for anyone suffering vertigo. Inside the style is best described as rustic. I have left the rather endearing colloquial text descriptions as I found them as they convey something of the whimsical magic of this extraordinary constructions in the rain forest.
Lodge La Montaña Mágica, Parque Huilo-Huilo ***
The Lodge Montaña Mágica (Magic Mountain hotel) in Chile is located within the Natural Reserve Huilo Huilo about 56 km / 35 miles from Panguipulli. The Lodge was built using exclusively local wood and has a very unique architectural style similar to a volcano.
The guests of this peculiar hotel are completely surrounded by nature, and can enjoy activities such as hunting, fishing or even hiking in the neighbouring natural reserve of Hulio Hulio. One can also watch and observe the eagles or the pumas, amongst other animals, which are often seen near the hotel.
This hotel owes its name to an ancient legend which talked about a magic mountain which granted wishes and sometimes even performed miracles, and truth be told, this hotel is a rather magical place. The waterfall gives one peace and quiet with a distinctive touch and the union with nature.
This hotel has thirteen available rooms, each one with its own private bathroom. Furthermore, across the hotel’s territory there are eleven cabins which can fit in around four or six people each one. A rather curious aspect is that each room has a different and rather peculiar name, and their meanings tend to be names of magical plants or animals that live in the area.
In the hotel one can savour an exquisite meal in a restaurant called the “Mesón del Bosque”, where all the local gourmet specialties can be found. One of the most famous chilean meals, the pastel de papas, or potato pie, is made there.
The general facilities include a bar, natural tree trunk hot tub, sauna, mini-golf court and internet access. Activities at and near Montaña Mágica Lodge include: hiking, trekking, horseback riding, canopy, rafting and mountain biking among others.
01.11.2008-31.03.2009 Standard single 151 USD and double 215 USD
Posted in Folly-esque, Treehouse, Uncategorized, tagged architecture, concrete tree, Folly, treehouse, treehouse restaurant on February 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »
The Hang Nga Hotel in Vietnam
This offbeat hotel in Dalat in Vietnam goes by various names, among them The Spider Web Chalet, the Hang Nga Tree House and the Crazy House, depending on who you ask.
It is in fact a hotel, designed by Dang Viet Na, a former model and daughter of Truong Chinh, the former resident of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. She designed the hotel so that guests could imagine they were staying in a fantasy world. Being the former president’s daughter clearly helped Dang Viet Na, who studied architecture in Moscow, get permission to build her fantasy hotel.
Its official name is the Hang Nga Tree House, Hang Nga was a moon fairy. Features include an Ant Room, a Honeymoon room reached by a minute bamboo staircase and spiders web made out of string waiting to catch the unwary.
You can find more images here Travelogues site with photos of The Crazy Hotel in Dalat, Vietnam
The Folly Fancier 