... Up Where the Air is Clear

So today I casually brought up the idea of planning a treehouse for next year at my parents new property. I have always wanted to build a tree folly and I believe every child should grow up with one but until now we simply did not have a place to put one. While my boys would most likely be happy with a ladder and a platform (and a coat of turquoise paint as my six year old is intent on adding as much colour to the world as possible...) I have always come at a project with the "go big or go home" mentality.


A few years ago I became obsessed with the Duchess of Northumberland's tree castle at the Alnwick Gardens. The project was a collaboration with the Prince of Whales to create what was to become the largest public gardens in Europe and the creativity and talent that went into them is nothing less than astounding. I followed their progress until the website changed over to basic tourist information. Many of the photos were unfortunately removed, but if you are ever able to put this on the itinerary for an excursion, I believe it would be more than worthwhile!




Not so long ago, the spherical treehouses from Free Spirit Spheres that originated on Saltspring Island (a place I once lived) made the rounds on sites such as Inhabitat and other design oriented blogs.

These are funky... still not my style though.

But these! Now this is something I could spend a great deal of time in... hell, this is something I could throw a great deal of martini socials in! I'm sold. They are prefabricated in Germany and I may have to sell a kidney just to cover the shipping, but there are some things in life that you just have to sacrifice for...

Baumraum has created dwellings that sit amongst the treetops in countries all over Europe and as far as the U.S. and Brazil. Just a trip through the galleries on their site has me dreaming of what fantastic things can be done thinking outside, and in this case, waaaaaay above, the box.

What do you suppose the chances of hoisting a retrofitted Airstream into a tree are? Fabulous, me thinks.

Steel Butterfly

I am SO excited about this. In my circle of "always ready with a hairbrained, newfangled, tree hugging idea" kind of friends, the discussion of alternative housing and building comes up often. Being in the Kootenays, the Land of the Intentional Community, there are actual examples of eco housing all over the place if you know where to look for them. What we don't understand, is why the concept is still labeled "alternative" and not looked to as the emerging norm.

Enter Maison Idekit Home out of Quebec. (For those of you not geographically adept, that is the large french part of Canada that sits right in the middle. Home to Montreal, which even Vogue recognizes as not being limited to igloos... unless of course you count the Ice Hotel, which is at least the most fabulous igloo going... for those who are into that sort of thing.) Maison Idekit's founders Bernard Morin and Joyce Labelle have finished construction on their dream home, which is also their business prototype, using seven reclaimed shipping containers. The massive steel boxes are the type used by freighters to carry shipments overseas and are generally reused to some extent. Eventually though, they end up in a sort of giant box graveyard that hopes to at least see the steel recycled, but with wood losing its reputation of being the worlds most renewable resource and the strength of steel being greater, using these containers for much needed affordable housing makes sense.

Brilliant idea, not to mention green, but the emphasis here is on affordable. The cost of the Idekit home using traditional building meathods, would reportedly be $400,000. Apparently, the actual cost using the second of the Three Rs was for $175,000. That is a HUGE difference and other countries (of course) have already put this idea into production. A company who calls itself, appropriately, Container City in London in the UK already is in full swing with a number of buildings that also boast clean wind turbine energy for their live/work studios.

For use as student housing in Holland the containers make quite a statement as the Keetwonen complex.

Hurricane victims in the US, as well as a few here and there one offs, may be the start of a movement on this side of the ocean, and companies such as DeMaria Design Associates are turning prefab into preFAB. (Ugh, I hate it when I do that. Sometimes it cannot be helped.)

The DeMaria website uses one of my favorite Bucky Fuller quotes,

"There is nothing in a caterpillar tells you it is going to be a butterfly."

So true.

Prefabulous!

So... not that I have $850,000 to spend on a new home, but I would like you to all do me a huge favor and head on over to this site the next time you have a few (like 30+) minutes to kill. Far too many pictures to put here.



I don't know about you, but who doesn't love a house tour? These GORGEOUS prefab homes at Livinghomes highlight the architectural genius of Ray Kappe (I am a huge fan) and Kieran Timberlake (new discovery for me) with naturally inspired modern architecture. The kind that makes your mouth water. The brilliant (and rather time consuming, there is lots to look at) part is that you have the option to be actually talked through the home by the owner, who happens to be the founder of Livinghomes, Steve Glenn. He walks you through the eco-features and details of the home with a sense of humor that is easy to listen to.

My future paradise will hopefully boast a tiny version of the "waterfall" house. I don't even know what I would do with five bedrooms!