tree house
A tree house is a house made of wood or other light materials such as aluminum or rigid foam that has one or more trees as the only foundation .
use
Even today, tree houses are built by indigenous peoples of South America , Africa , Asia and West Papua ( New Guinea ) (in the latter, for example, by the Korowai ) to avoid the dangers and adversities on the ground. Modern tree houses are mostly integrated into existing hotel complexes. In Europe, tree houses are usually built as a play area for children and recently also as offices.
construction
The construction method differs considerably from that of other structures and requires a deeper understanding of the materials and their static properties. Tree house architecture is to some extent comparable to boat building / shipbuilding , with tree houses mostly centered on the foundation being the biggest challenge.
Four different fastening techniques are used in modern tree house construction: screwing, clamping, hanging and / or support. The so-called garnish screws developed in the USA are preferably used for the screw technology , heavy bolts with a diameter of three centimeters and threads that are driven into the tree and can carry a weight of up to five tons. The advantage of the garnish screws is, on the one hand, that they act like an artificial branch and the tree is not constrained, and on the other hand, because of the high stability, only a few such connections are necessary between the tree house and the tree, which is less stressful than spiking with lots of small screws or even nails. With the clamping technique, adjustable steel sleeves are stretched around the trunk, to which joist hangers are then attached. In order not to constrict the tree, this technique requires regular follow-up checks and, if necessary, loosening of the cuff. With the hanging technique, the tree house is hung in the tree either as a whole or as individual load-bearing parts using steel cables and special textile loops. Support technology uses beams to support load-bearing parts from below. The techniques mentioned can be used individually or in combination, depending on the requirements of the individual project. A clever combination can make use of the respective advantages of the different connection technologies.
The tree house must be accessible from all sides for checks and maintenance . There are around 20 companies worldwide that explicitly offer the construction of tree houses.
Statics
Particular attention is paid to the anchoring in the tree and the flexible properties of the other structural connections. The statics of a tree house must be calculated according to special models . The visual and subjective security plays here z. B. a role; on the other hand, safety factors cannot be used as the basis for the calculations (weather data / tree data) is usually missing.
Special feature of elevator-type structures that are attached between several trees: If the anchoring is divided into different systems, z. B. one of the systems can be provided with counterweights. This makes the tension in the ropes precisely calculable and always remains constant. With such auxiliary weights it is also possible to move the remaining dead weight of the tree house with muscle power, like an elevator. Chain hoists can be used for this.
Tree huts for children
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Tree houses have been popular with children and young people for generations as a retreat and playful focus. They are made themselves with boards and nails. With “intuitive statics”, sometimes daring constructions arise. Access is usually via rope ladders that are pulled up to protect them from other children (gang) n.
With the appropriate experience, temporary huts can be turned into sometimes very sophisticated tree houses with a thick roof, glazed windows, extensive interior fittings and some with fireplaces and cookers, heating and insulation.
Notable tree houses
The currently (2007) tallest tree house in the world used for tourism is in Kerala , India . It is a hotel called Green Magic Tree House , which is 26 meters high and is accessed by an elevator. The architecturally advantageous dome construction is remarkable.
The first German tree house hotel is located on the cultural island of Einsiedel near Görlitz . It was built in 2007 and consists of five tree apartments, which are connected to one another by footbridges and suspension bridges. Another tree house hotel was built in April 2008 in Schönhagen (Uslar) in Lower Saxony . The Baumhaushotel Solling consists of four individual houses with four beds each. There are now some such unusual accommodations in Germany. There are far more tree house hotels in France.
The oak of Allouville (France) houses a chapel designed as a tree house.
The largest tree house in the world, supported by a single tree, is located in the Swiss community of Hildisrieden .
Legal
At least from a certain size, a tree house needs a building permit. A legal dispute is currently being carried out over a tree house weighing around 6 t in St. Radegund, Innviertel, Upper Austria. It was built privately and is supported by 1,000 petition signatories.
Picture gallery
Tree House Protest Village (1999)
Tree houses in Alnwick Garden
Tree hut on the youth farm Freiberg (Stuttgart)
Tree hut built around a trunk (Southern Europe)
private tree house in Northern Germany (2015)
literature
- David Stiles, Jeanie Stiles, Claudia Lorenz-Ladener (eds.): Lauben and huts. Simple paradises built by yourself. (Original title: Rustic retreats ). (= Antis ). Ökobuch-Verlag, Staufen near Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-922964-84-2 .
- Alain Laurens, Ghislain André, Ingrid Astier, Daniel Dufour (illustrations), Jacques Delacroix (photos): Dreamlike tree houses (French original title: Cabanes d'exception. Translated by Martin Rometsch). AT Verlag , Baden / Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-03800-480-6 .
- Pete Nelson: New Tree Houses in the World. (Original title: New Treehouses of the World translated by Barbara Sternthal ). Brandstätter, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-85033-276-7 .
- Andreas Wenning: Tree houses: New architecture in the trees. 3rd, expanded edition. DOM publishers , Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-86922-409-1 .
Web links
- Build a tree house
- TreeHouse Villages, university thesis project
- A tree house in the sights of the authorities
Individual evidence
- ↑ Build tree houses. Retrieved on July 9, 2012 (construction methods in modern tree house construction).
- ↑ Addresses tree house hotels. Retrieved on May 13, 2020 (list of treehouse hotels worldwide).
- ↑ Curious quarrel about the tree house. ORF.at from December 19, 2013.
See also
- Building botany
- Log cabin
- Tree houses by the architect Piet Blom , see cube house
