Urban Treetop Hide-A Viewing Gallery for Adventuring Escapist City-dwellers-

-The ‘Primitive Hut’, ‘Original Dwelling’ and Origins of Architecture-The tree house suggests a retreat to simple, ‘primitive’ dwelling, providing shelter from

the elements and the natural world whilst embracing and using them

Progression of Architecture, Reversion and Escapism

StartLaugier’s Primitive Hut

ProgressEarly Dwellings

Develop’French order’ -Ribart de Chamoust

ConquerRenzo Piano’s -The Shard

RevertThe Tree House

Adventure Escape ExploreClimb

-Conquer-Danger

-An Urban Tree Hide-A place to escape to for London’s most daring.

The very visible hide states its presence across the city, whilst keeping its inhabitants invisible atop the tallest tree in London.

HideRetreatRevert

-King of the Castle- An urban tree house atop London’s Urban Jungle

-Elements-The hide embraces natural elements, providing an

escape from the artificial covered and sealed condi-tion of urban living. The inhabitant is made to expe-rience the wind, air, rain, sun and sky, whilst car-

fully controlling their effects.

-Wind-As the wind blows, the heavy

carved oak damper rocks gen-tly back and forth in its cradle

-Sun-The sun is allowed to penetrate through holes piercing the top

of the hide

-Sky-Cut-out windows look up to the sky giving a reclining inhabit-ant a view of the changing sky

-Rain-Oak shell expands and shrinks, with wetting and drying, aging, cracking and changing colour

over time

Light Holes

-Urban Treetop Hide-

Carved oak hide capsule rests inside a rope weave cradle

Oiled Carved Oak Sleeper Shell

Woven Rope Cradle

Hollowed-out Interior

-Construction Methods-Natural tactile materials and low-tech construction methods

Rope Cradle Hide rocks in cradle

Oak hide carved from sleeper wood

-Making-The hide is made from simple construction techniques- the cradle is wove rope

through a timber jointed frame and the capsule is carved from oak sleeper wood

-Oak Damper-As strong winds blow the heavy oak capsule rolls slowly back and forth in its

cradle, acting as a damper to the structure and creating a gentle rocking motion

-Periscpe--Windows-

-Oak Capsule Hide--Daylight holes--Views-

Windows frame wiews out whilst perforated ceiling allows daylight to penetrate and periscope allows all-round viewing

Chocolate Box-A Suburban Playhouse-

Suburban Luxury/Enhancement/Exhibitionism

-Suburban Luxuries- A little everyday luxury- enhancement and exhibitionism of suburban lives

and homes

-Suburban Bin Alleys- Due to property values and desirability based on detachment, the gap

closes between homes, leaving only skinny bin/bike alleys dividing sup-posedly ‘detached’ and semi-detached’ houses

-Malleable Living-Pin sculpture wall allows inhabitants to create different

furniture and to mould their living space

Climb Meet Recline Study Steps Table, Chairs and Shelving

-Chocolate/Wood Craft- Highly crafted luxury of chocolate treats and decorative wood interiors

and furniture

-Material Tests-1:20 Tests in malleable, mouldable wood construction techniques

Soft wooden mattressElastic-Threaded Wood

Sliding, stacked wooden storage boxes

Attic

Living

Garden

Shed

Bed

Staircase

-Suburban Playhouse- Crafte wooden playhouse mirrors exisiting domestic spaces within the

home

-Digitally Fabricated Inlays-Array of precisely crafted spaces of different crafts and functions

-Climb- -Live/Move--Sleep-

-Build--Store- -Hide-

-Chocolate Box-Menu of tactile play spaces to explore

Hearth House-Services off the M40-

-Rural/Urban?-Motorways cut through british countryside transform once isolated rural areas,

creating a strange border between rural and urban conditions

-Ruined Farmhouses-Rural farmhouses and shepherds’ cottages left abandoned by motorways cut

through countryside

-Shepherd’s Cottage, M40-Cottage and farmhouse ruins along the M40.

Site-Small stone cottage ruin with still standing chimney near Exit for Royal Leamington Spa

Site

-Clients-Services provide toilets and rest stop for M40 travellers, Shelter for chilly hikers

and sheep and fertilizer for farmers

-Biodigestor-Poo-Oxygen=fertilizer+biogas

Biodigestor provides biogas to keep chimney burning and heat shelter and ferti-lizer for land-owning farmer

-“Back to Nature”-The house provides a fleeting countryside visit before returning to car to continue

journey

-Hearth House-Motorway rest stop and toilets

Thatch

Timber Off-cut Bricks

Moss Carpet

Laser cut Corten

-Hearth House-Service station provides rest stop, warmth and comfort and toilets. The hearth os

fuelled by biogas from use of toilets and sheep feeders

-Natural Linings-Natural materials and living moss replace carpets and soft furnishings to provide a

fleeting experience of nature and the countryside in comfort

-Soft Moss- Carpet, Seat and Head rests

-Country Thatch- Traditional British Thatched roof acousti-cally insulates and protects space from noise

of motorway

-Laser-cut Steel Corten-Mimics crumbling brick walls from a distance, whilst

allowing daylight in and views out

-Toilet View-Looks out away from motorway over countryside

-Views-The house provides views out to the countryside whilst blocking off views and noise

from motorway and views in from the outside

-Wooden Bricks-Timber bricks fit into existing ruins and are strung from main roof structure. Hanging

walls can also be moved around the space in change internal configuration