An Artificial Tree
Our project tries to combine the cabin typology (a small , energy efficient and low-budget space) with a new experience of the forest, as a multi-layered landscape, more connected to the nature. Following this guideline our cabin is not a single space resting on the ground but a series of different spaces that "grow" around an artificial- tree structure, made of glulam beams. There are 3 cubic spaces at different height so that guests can look at the whole forest, not just at one level. At the ground level you enter the tree, covered by a denim eco textile which provides insulation and you find the woodstove which heats the air that goes up to the other levels, interconnected to form a sole space. Outside the tree you find the ladder to enter the first cube: a room with a bed, a bookcase, a desk, a large window to the south view and a round magnifying glass to look at the ground life in a way you usually won't. To go upstairs you climb the tree (so again a different and interactive experience) thanks to a climbing net. Here you find some pillows where you can read a book having a singular view through a narrow window. From this spot you can open a panel just like a door and sit astride. In the same cube there is a long window for bird-watching. The last room is very compact, the ceiling is low, just a bed without any windows except for a skylight: we wanted to create the feeling of isolation and meditation to focus guests' view on the sky, so you can actually sleep under the stars. If this experience is not enough you can even open a part of the ceiling and go outside, sit down and have a look to the forest from an height of 8 meters. Here you can find a telescope, so this space is a kind of open-air observatory.
There is always this ambiguity between inside and outside, small and vast, natural and artificial. The artificial tree acts as a structure, its trunk go deep in the soil, so the beams acts as roots; it also provides heat and electricity thanks to the leaves-shaped PV panels connected to it and is the core for the inner circulation. You can't really understand all its characteristics neither from outside or inside; from the outside the conical shape and its cladding reminds of the Mi'kmaq wigwams, which really inspired us, from the inside you really feel like you have a tree in the cabin, that you can even climb! Another important aspect is the use of Organoid, a biogenic material made of 100% biodegradable products as wood chips, reed, straw, etc, combined with a natural binder and then sprayed on surfaces. The use of Organoid leads to a multi-sensorial experience that involves not just the sight but also taste, smell and touch; so again an ambiguity between natural and artificial: the lines are blurred!
(Competitor's text)
7 scanned / 6 viewable
- conceptual image
- Diagram
- Site Plan
- Plan
- Elevation
- Perspective
