claudio beltrame's egg-shaped treehouse offers panoramic views of the italian alps

architetto claudio beltrame‘s pigna treehouse project started from the desire to create a compact structure that is not only a refuge for man, but also a natural element of its environment, a mimesis of its surrounding. the concept phase was developed for an architectural competition in 2014, and only a couple of year later it became a concrete project in the italian alps near, tarvisio.

the treehouses amidst the rich italian alps

the claudio beltrame-designed treehouse is made of two structures. they are developed on three separate levels raised ten meters above ground. the first level hovers four meter above the ground and serves as a panoramic covered terrace. the second features a set of stairs — which follow the profile of the pine cone, acting as a structural cage — that leads to the interior through two large windows with sliding doors. 

drone height view with mountains reflecting in the windows

the living room faces the compact kitchen and the bathroom door and adjacent to it, the wooden stairs leads to the bedroom on the third floor. the double bed lies beneath a round skylight at the top of the structure. the structure is completely made of out xlam wood insulated with wooden fiber, covered with larch shingles that are small in size in order to easily follow the curvature of the threehouses.

the arrival

pigna in the snow

detail of the wooden shingles covered by snow

details of the entrance

the living space features an adjoining terrace

the terrace

the bedroom features a circular rooftop window

the pinecone and the trees

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom