Architecture Wednesday: Tree Houses

I never had a treehouse as a kid, even though we had the perfect oak tree in the backyard just begging for a little childhood architectural genius. I imagine, though, that if I did, it would have the prominently displayed "No Girlz Allowed" sign. I may not have known I was a mo in training back then, but I knew it would be better without any icky girls.
But what about treehouses for grownups. We have literally fifty trees in our front yard and just as many out back. If I could only have a grownup treehouse........

Like this one. Rustic, simple, a wrap-around deck made for sippin' margaritas! And a little ramshackle looking, like I built after drinkin' those margaritas.

So, this one, up there, looks a little more stable, which is good because it looks a great deal higher. Pete Nelson , a man obsessed with treehouses, photographed these for his book, Treehouses of the World, and this particular one is built out of unfinished local wood in Fall City, Washington.

Built in 2005, and looking a little space shippy[?], this one is located on the Japanese island of Okinawa. It's used as a kind of layover for those adventurous backpacking types, and is so well-built that it even survived a typhoon.

The O2 Treehouse was designed by Dustin Feider, and is constructed entirely from recycled material and uses a geodesic structure for strength and light weight. If you like this one, Feider's company will customize it for you, though you might want a more earthbound model; this one is more than 50 feet off the ground.
But, if these treehouses are too simple, too rustic, too out there, or up there, you can always go bigger, bolder, and closer to terra firma.

This ginormous treehouse is called the Horace Cathedral, and can be found in Crossville, Tennessee. Inspired by a vision, Horace Burgess began work on the structure 21 years ago and has since added construction scraps and recycled wood from five derelict barns. When church isn't in session, the spacious interior serves as a basketball court.
I never had a treehouse, and he gets a tree church?


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