The coexistence and even more - the creative relationship between nature and architecture is not a new issue, but constantly inspiring especially in the age of new technologies. Mobius Architects upholds the modernist thesis that nature is not a background for architecture, but its context. In the spirit of this idea was Przemek Olczyk's latest project, Tree House, a house too light to touch the ground.
Olczyk's proposal is in line with the aesthetics of projects he has developed, such as the Circle Wood House in Izabelin, surrounded by the Kampinos National Park. The current Tree House project in central Poland, also surrounded by trees, opens up to the space, allowing it, as it were, to be an extension of the house or, conversely, to be an extension of the house. The organic structure of the Tree House will give the impression of levitation, as it will be set on poles that will, in time, resemble pine trees, and the leitmotif of the entire project will be a circle, referring to the cross-section of the trunk. Circle sections and circles of various sizes will be arranged upwards from the suspended floor, through the atrium, to the interior, which is closely integrated into the block. As Mobius Architects points out, "Tree House teaches us to look at nature in a new way. And on architecture."
Tree House solid design
© Mobius Architects
an architectural and structural challenge
The Tree House floor will give the impression of not touching the ground, as it will rest on irregularly placed supports. Corten steel columns will be used, which will look like pine bark when corroded. The round slice of the trunk in the architect's vision is meant to resemble an organic structure - it is like a wooden box, too light to fall to the very pith, Olczyk describes. Set high among the trees, the building will reveal to residents a wide perspective on the surroundings and the view of the forest, but also on the architecture of the house itself. Hanging such a structure on irregularly spaced "trunks" is the biggest challenge of this project, as it is an unusual solution and architecturally and structurally complex. Only the first floor of the building will be an element clearly integrated into the ground. However, it will be given lightness by the diagonal line of the facade and the horizontal wall of glazing in the semi-open living area. Its extension will be an empty panoramic space. Crowned only by a flat roof, it will create a perfect framework for the landscape. Elsewhere, the atrium will reach upward to a floor suspended like a levitating saucer and higher up to the treetops. It is here that the epicenter of the opening to nature will be located.
Conceptual view of Tree House
© Mobius Architects
organic and functional
What will allow the building to blend in with its surroundings will be the materials used, namely stone, glass and wooden facade. The light colors of the mass will be a delicate accent against the colors of the forest, while the darker columns will be virtually indistinguishable from the tree trunks. It is this kind of treatment that will give the impression of a levitating structure. The main entrance will be hidden in the wooden vertical profiles of the door, and the circular recess in which it will disappear is evidence of an effective play with geometry in architecture. The motif of concealment will also be used in the elevator placed in the mirrored enclosure. Repeated forms of unobtrusive but organic and functional circles appear in the kitchen, bathroom elements and dressing rooms.
Tree House interior view design
© Mobius Architects
the tradition of modernism
Mobius Architects draws its modernist inspiration for the relationality of nature and architecture from the best architectural tradition. Le Corbusier thought of architecture in a similar way when he created the Modernist Villa Savoye in the 1930s. The columnar structure, horizontal windows, flat roofs with terraces and a white facade and relationship with the environment were the architect's trademarks. The modernist massing, minimalist detailing and foregrounding of nature in the case of Tree House is an expansion of this tradition, along with innovative solutions and technology.
View inside Tree House
© Mobius Architects
