This mirror-walled tree house in the woods of Northern Sweden is envisioned as a hotel by one of Sweden's cutting-edge architecture firms Tham & Videgard.
The Swedish architecture duo knows as Tham & Videgard preach a less-is-more design ethos that has won wide attention in our post-Gehry period where simplicity trumps extravagance. T&V, as they call themselves, have been invited to participate at the 2010 Lisbon Architecture Trienniale in October 2010, and they have seen their work chosen for a special architecture exhibition at the Venice Bienale in November 2010. Featured in Architectural Record in 2009 was their Tree Hotel project in the forests around Harads, Sweden.
Reflecting the sky, the 13-foot-cube practically disappears when viewed from below.
The concept is to suspend a 13-foot square box made from lightweight aluminum and plywood around a tree trunk deep in the woods. The box is clad in mirrored glass, reflecting back its green environment and making its mass almost disappear.
Inside the box, which is accessed by a rope step ladder or rope bridge in the conceptualization of the project, is a living area, a small sleeping area, and a kitchenette and bathroom. A chunk of the top of the cube is indented to accommodate a viewing platform, which the architects refer to as the “roof terrace.”
The notch on the upper left side of the cube is where the hotel's "roof terrace" will be.
“The concept is to create a shelter up in the trees,” reads the architects’ website. “A light-weight aluminum structure hung around a tree trunk, a 4?4×4 meter box clad in mirrored glass. 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.”