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
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