live among the trees with these modular treehouses designed for 8 forested sites in france

this competition entry by camila simas and marcos franchini began by questioning the existing treehouse typology. and the result of their exploration is a series of ‘treehouse modules’ adapted to eight forested sites across three different locations in france. based on the intention to cohabitate, not to conquest, the architects propose to remove the dependency on the tree and instead create a generous dialogue, which in turn produces liveable space. 

mothe chandeniers proposal, image © amanda castilho

the three locations are mothe chandeniers, eubaupinay and vibrac. the ecology of these areas is influenced by the loire valley climate and the nearby gâvre state forest. among many other species of trees, there are four very distinguishable species that predominate the landscape: english oak, sweet chestnut, scots, and maritime pine. the trees are intrinsic to an ecosystem that supports a variety of plant and animal life.

mothe chandeniers plan and cross section

camila simas and marcos franchini have proposed eight different sites for their treehouses, with two having being taken to the developed design stage. for the mothe chandeniers proposal, a 65m3 tree house module floats among the tree canopy. the idea of lifting the module is inspired by a strong desire to establish a visual connection with the mothe chandeniers ruin and the wooden spire of the adjacent chapel. freeing up the ground also offers the chance for guests to inhabit the space under the suspended volume. the house is structured to mimic the structure of a tree that allows life to happen under and in between the branches.

vibrac proposal, image © amanda castilho

for one site in vibrac, a north-south axis acts not only as as organizational element to the five programmatic volumes measuring a total of 95m3, but also as the unifying piece, allowing the ruin to take part of the composition. the axis then becomes an analogy to the bridges of vibrac and each programmatic volume an island on an archipelago. the walkway is made of the local tuffean stone and leads visitors on a journey to explore and be surprised.

vibrac proposal day, image © amanda castilho

the concept proposes five different volumes that can generate multiple compositions. each volume hosts a specific program and adds up to correspond to 65m3 and 100m3 as requested. adding to the array of compositional options, all the volumes apart from the sauna, can be rotated. the intention is to allow the composition to mold itself to the various sites.

vibrac proposal night, image © amanda castilho

‘the space is composed not from matter but from dualities, an architecture constituted of distances. a space formed by ambiguous boundaries interpreting the connections and relationships assimilated by the trees and the landscape constituting them. this relationship, to be truthful and meaningful, requires a certain level of intimacy of understanding the types of trees in place, its structure, and behavior. it is within this setting that we are creating the composition and placement of the tree houses.’ – architects camila simas and marcos franchini

vibrac proposal plan and cross section

conditions diagram

modules diagram

site diagrams

tree diagrams

references

project info:

project name: treehouse module

architects: camila simas and marcos franchini

landscape design consultant: carolina jaimes

3D renderings: amanda castilho

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: lynne myers | designboom