The Ultimate Tree House
By Lucas on Oct 21, 2013
By Penny Munoz
Even the best urbanites will confess that from time-to-time, the chaotic city lifestyle gets to be too much. For most, this means retreating to a cozy cottage for the weekend to get back in touch with Mother Nature. The really daring might even book a portaging getaway, and the borderline insane might even move to the country… But imagine building a glass cylinder, $399,016 home on a mountain, in the middle of a forest with a tree growing through the centre.
Though homes all over the world, in unlikely places like Hollywood, Guatemala and Tokyo have trees incorporated into the designs, this ‘Tree in a House’ home takes the concept to a whole other level. The glass home actually circles around a 40-foot tree in a forest of fir trees located in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The intention behind the design is to fuse manmade industrial design with nature, giving up “some unnecessary conditions”, says A.Masow Design Studio’s Aibek Almasov who was the architect behind the project. “The project aims to offer an alternative to bustling city life and stifling urban structures by fusing a protective house and a natural environment without creating a visual separation.”
The client, a 38-year-old businessman was looking for a place to develop spiritually and creatively in the woodland. The cylindrical, transparent walls offer maximum sunlight and a boundless panoramic view of the surrounding nature. On the inside, the design maintains a natural theme with white coils adorning the spiraling staircase, light-coloured wood flooring for landings and of course, an interior view from any of the four floors exposing the trunk of the tree rising through the home.
Quickly gaining widespread global attention, Aibek, 22, says that he has already received orders to build three more homes like it. At the risk of revealing my own urban roots, I have to ask… What about allergies, insects and debris? It’d be pretty challenging to be contemplative with watery eyes and itchy skin, but how about getting swarmed by an angry crew of ants during meditation?! And really, how relaxed could you actually be if you’re ceaselessly sweeping tree bark and leaves from all four floors first thing every single morning (which is unavoidable since judgemental onlookers might happen upon an unkempt abode.)
Could you see a home like this in Muskoka? Or Caledon? Aurora? Oakville? What would be an ideal location for a Canadian “Tree in a House” home?
All images via amasow.com
