Good is...? Weehouse

Whilst searching the internet I came across a really interesting website, a company, cased in America, its the collaboration between a designer and architect. The company provides a site in which you can design, and order a flat packed house. The 'weehouses' are made of eco friendly materials, and they really enforce this idea, using solar panels and a recycling process. The design process also utilises strategies to reduce waste.


As seen below the 'Weehouses' are befitting to the environment, are made mostly of wooden materials, with some modern and architecturally stunning interiors. The whole idea is that you can contact the designers, and for your new home to be delivered on the back of a lorry.

One of the smaller, more abstract and personalised designs.

Simply dropping your new home off.

One of the best things about the weehouses is its ability to transport it

Although simply a wooden cabin, some of the 'weehouses' have beautiful interiors

Their simple structure means, as long as you have land ownership, they can be placed pretty much anywhere.

The factory building

Another home being delivered.

Some of the messages, concepts and idea the company offers.

The 'green' aspect of the company

Time scaling in the construction process

Some prototypes

The building process.

Showing a customised design.

Digital mock up, showing standard and customised 'Weehouses'

Showing the environments such a design can be placed in.

The eco friendly aspects of a weehouse. Listed:

- Solar electric

- Solar thermal

- smart roof

- Passive cooling

- Passive solar heating

- Wind power

- Rain water collection

- Hydronic infloor heat

- Geothermic heat

More information about the eco / green elements of the company

Some elements the weehouses offer. 

Floor plans, are possibly something I could look at too.

An example of an existing design of a wee house you can purchase

The design and building process in stages

Showing wee houses you can rent

Wee house delivery map - showing the areas which can be delivered to.

The online manual

Providing information about the interior Design

Outlining the eco friendly aspects of Wee houses

The environments wee houses can be placed in.

The customisation process.

Outlining what a wee house is.

An example.

Another example, with floor plans.

Some of the customisation options available.

Interior design options.

The heating a cooling apsect of the wee houses, outlining eco friendly elements

Publicity

Wee houses are gaining popularity within the industry, being shown with Grand designs and other such mainstream design company publications.

After looking at this company, I've realised there only available online, they do not provide paper based product information. Which is a niche I could possibly take on board, and produce the print based materials for the company myself. Possibly create the branding, packaging and advertising of the products being sold so it's more widely available. I did find when looking on the website, it quite tedious going through a load of links to find out vital pieces of information a potential buyer would need. Having it printed into a simple booklet / catalogue would be a much easier way to go about it, I feel. All the information to hand, and available at all times.

Good is...? Flat pack

One area I wanted to look at was the product as a whole, and the manuals and diagrams it came with in order to show construction steps.

Good is...? Tree house - Maintenance through seasons

Tree houses, due the changing environment need to be maintained and check throughout the year to keep them at their best. Here are just a few checks which should be done within particular seasons.

Winter

It's cold, dark and wet outside but there are plenty of tasks that can be completed during the winter months. This is the one part of the year when trees are dormant, and most trees and vegetation will have lost their leaves.

• Photograph the branch structure of your tree and visualise where your treehouse will be placed.
• Remove any excess ground vegetation, allowing access by foot or vehicle as needed later in the year.
• Prune any branches that are dead, dying or in the way of your structure. This is best done between December and February.
• Spend the dark evenings inside planning your design. The more detail you go into at this stage, the easier the construction will be.
• Work out where to position safety ropes and pulleys.
• Order materials and tools.
• If weather conditions are safe to work in, this is the best time of year to fix bolts for the foundation of the treehouse when trees are still dormant.

Spring

Vegetation bursts into life and trees begin to open new leaves.

• Fix the foundation of the treehouse if you haven't done so already.
• Build the floor platform.
• Load the floor with test weights and leave for a couple of weeks.
• Prepare the walls and roof of the treehouse at ground level, preferably inside. Keep things small enough to be safely raised and positioned.
• Start building the remainder of the treehouse.

Summer

Long, warm days and drier weather make this the best time to build the house section of the treehouse on the prepared and tested floor.

• Complete the treehouse.
• Relax and enjoy the view.

Autumn/fall

The treehouse can still be used in fine weather, but preparations need to be made before winter sets in. High winds can be particularly damaging.

• Make the most of the view as the leaves change colour.
• Check the waterproofing of the roof using a large bucket of water and repair any leaks.
• Inspect the supports and sliding joints to ensure they are working as expected.
• Remove any loose materials from the roof (cones, branches) and from any decks you may have.
• Stay out of the treehouse in stormy weather.
• Drain any pipework (October-November) to avoid frost damage during winter.
• Remove any ropes or bridges that might constrict the growth of the tree. Replace these in a different position the following year.

'Good is...?' - Tree house - Building

Before building a tree house, it's best to go through these simple seven stages:

1. Check the planning/building regulations in your area
2. Design the treehouse plan before you start cutting any wood
3. Keep supports separate to the house framework
4. Allow flexibility in the supports if you use more than one tree
5. Use single large bolts for attachments to the tree
6. Avoid restricting tree growth
7. Build as much as possible on the ground

1. Check the planning/building regulations in your area

• In urban areas planning regulations can easily demand that your treehouse is removed on safety, distraction or regulatory infringement grounds.
• Every area is different, but some general guidelines apply.
• Ask officially before you build.
• Speak to your neighbours before you start. If anyone objects it is most likely to be them. Discussing your idea will make it much easier to get their approval.

2. Design the treehouse plan before you start cutting any wood

• Map the supporting trunks or branches at your proposed floor level. Use string to mark the height on each trunk and draw the layout on squared paper.
• Work out the best support method.
• Lay out the floor.
• Draw the house to fit on the floor. The free Google Sketchup software works well.
• Involve the client. If the treehouse is for your children, ask them what features they would like and let them help with drawing up the plans. Make sure they feel that it is their own treehouse.

3. Keep supports separate to the house framework

• Aim for a level floor capable of taking the entire weight of the house. It is much easier to build a rigid house on a solid, flat floor than to rely on other parts of the tree for support.
• Avoid fixing any walls or parts of the roof to branches passing through.
• Walls need to be rigid enough to support their own weight plus the roof.

4. Allow flexibility in the supports if you use more than one tree

• If more than one tree is used they must be allowed to move in the wind or the treehouse can be easily damaged.
• Use either metal brackets or cables to allow flexibility.
• Building between two trees is the easiest system for large treehouses. More trees means allowing movement in different directions, which is hard to absorb.
• A popular flexible design uses a rigid floor unit that can slide over the beams below, allowing the beams and the trees to move.
• To reduce excessive movement, bolt one part of the supports to the largest tree of the set, allowing the other end(s) of the support(s) to move flexibly.

5. Use single large bolts for attachments to the tree

• Single puncture wounds at each attachment point cause much less tree damage.
• Large bolts are much stronger than screws or nails.
• Lag bolts are preferable to through bolts as less damage is caused.
• Check fastening ratings and always overbuild each joint to take at least three times the projected weight of materials and occupants

6. Avoid restricting tree growth

• Don't tie straps or ropes around the tree as this will strangle it over time.
• Add spacers between beams and the tree to allow room for growth during the lifespan of the treehouse, or use very large bolts which have plenty of the shaft exposed and mount items on the end.
• Allow a 2" gap around the tree if it passes through the floor
• Add at least a 3" gap around the tree if it passes through the roof (more if the tree flexes much in the wind)

7. Build as much as possible on the ground

• Design the treehouse in separately built sections that can easily be joined together - supports, floor, walls and roof. These can then be pulleyed into the tree and quickly secured in position.
• Using power tools is easier.
• Building on the ground is safer.
• Parts will be prepared faster and more accurately than if constructed in the tree.
• In remote locations prepare a proper work area before you start.

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Finding the perfect place to build - Picking your tree

Height

The higher you go in a tree the greater the sense of freedom and the more amazing the views you get will be. However, you must also think practically - in terms of safety in the case of a fall, wind speed and quality of support. Children's treehouses are usually more suited near the ground up to 3 metres (10 feet) to minimises the danger from a fall.

Trees can move a lot in the wind and adding a treehouse, which is essentially a sail, will only help to increase the wind catchment area. In particular, this effect will be greater in a storm. Usually trees can deal with excessive wind speed by losing parts of their structure in the order of leaves, small branches and large branches. As each of these is lost, the wind catchment area of a tree decreases, helping to reduce the pressure which may lead to the entire tree blowing over. A properly constructed treehouse may not disintegrate until wind speeds are great, so all the pressure acting on it is helping your tree get pushed over. Treehouses in high wind areas should be in the lower third of the tree, where wind speeds are lower and the leverage of the force on the tree is reduced. If the wind poses a serious danger, keep size to a minimum and try to build a more curving, or circular, house to reduce the sail effect.

Branch thickness

The points where you fix supports will need to be strong enough to hold the weight of the part of the house they are supporting. It is simpler building with a few long supports than lots of smaller ones. This will require several attachment points (four is good) across different trees. Although branch strength varies between species of trees, these are some guidelines. Excellent trees are oak, beech, maple, fir and hemlock. For a one storey treehouse with no overhanging parts a minimum thickness for four attachment points (one at each corner) is about eight inches. If you have more than one storey and/or the extra leverage and weight of overhanging sections, then you may need twelve inches or more. If your branches don't allow for this, use more attachment points so the weight is spread out better.

Building between different trees or trunks

If you are planning to use two or more branches, trunks or trees, you must be careful when fitting supports. When there is strong wind, a tree will twist and sway quite a lot. You must not seriously restrict this movement because it could destroy your house. This mostly occurs when building across two very long branches because they catch the wind easily and can swing around a lot. Different trees and different branches will move differently, so the supports must be able to cope with any tension or compression. The options are having a strong rigid framework or a weaker flexible framework.

Tree damage

Before you start work on your treehouse, read through the tree damage page for the common treehouse related injuries and how to avoid them.

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Legal aspects of building a tree house

Legal planning

An unwelcome and sometimes intrusive service, the legal system of planning regulations and building codes can cause many a head and heartache for would-be treehouse builders. The myriad laws governing building work are generally designed to provide a uniform and measurable level of safety for occupiers and have, of course, done well to protect people from serious structural failings and health hazards in regular buildings.

You will either agree or disagree with how I view treehouses and the law. My impression of a treehouse is that it is a fun exercise - something that takes hard work to build but which will give you a huge sense of achievement and a lasting, useful addition to your garden. Involving children in various parts of the work teaches them many practical skills and gets them occupied with something creative, rather than television or video games. One of the reasons I started this web site was because I think treehouses are so great that everyone should have the chance to build one. In my communications with other treehouse builders the law has, in every case I can think of, been a hindrance to the builder. In the pursuit of ever more restrictive safety regulations, the inherently unconformist features of a treehouse are widely frowned upon and condemned by officials.

Keeping on the right side of the law

• Build on your own land, or at least have permission.
• Discreetly ask around the neighbourhood for people's general thoughts on your treehouse.
• Very discreetly ask around the local council/governing body to determine if any laws exist regarding treehouses. Not many areas have specific laws, but if so, study them in detail.
• Keep away from boundaries. These are definite no go areas for building and should always be avoided. No part of the structure should reach within ten feet of the boundary of your property, although this distance can vary.
• Design the house to avoid having obvious privacy-infringing areas, such as large windows or balconies overlooking neighbours or roads.
• Try to choose a site that's not visible from the road. Not everyone who sees your treehouse will be impressed and anyone can make a complaint.
• Don't consider making an official planning application unless you are properly prepared. Getting a building permit is hard going for a treehouse. You will need a structural engineer who is prepared to validate the strength of the design, which is not easy. Treehouses are much more dynamic in their support and movement and so are difficult to quantify into real stress and strain measurements.
• Keeping the size and design a little restricted demonstrates that the treehouse is a 'temporary structure' - the magic words. Convincing the authorities of this label is important to help negate the need for a building permit. Remember, sheds don't need permits so be prepared to describe the treehouse as such. Temporary structures usually have height restrictions (eg, fifteen feet in some places) which you are quite likely to breach building in a tree - unfortunately there's little you can do about that, other than hiding the offending parts.
• Avoid fitted electricity and plumbing. You will be giving the impression that the building is to be used as accommodation, and that is simply not the route down which you want to travel. Your treehouse must not appear to be a potential dwelling. Many, many restrictions will apply if it does appear to be occupied or if the intent is there. You can always run an extension lead for electricity up there as another 'temporary' measure.

'Good is...?' - Treehouses

To define:


Tree houses, treehouses, or tree forts, are platforms or buildings constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, observation or as temporary retreats.


Practical uses:

In some parts of the tropics, houses are either fastened to trees or elevated on stilts to keep the living quarters above the ground to protect occupants and stored food from scavenging animals. The Korowai, a Papuan tribe in the southeast of Irian Jaya, live in tree houses, some nearly 40 metres (130 ft) high, as protection against a tribe of neighbouring head-hunters, the Citak.

Tree houses are an option for building eco-friendly houses in remote forest areas, because they do not require a clearing of a certain area of forest. The wildlife, climate and illumination on ground level in areas of dense close-canopy forest is not well suited for human habitation.

Materials:

Tree houses can be built with a wide range of materials. Wood is commonly used for structural parts and cladding due to its strength, light weight and low cost. Steel is used for brackets, cables and bolts, including specialized tree bolts capable of supporting up to 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg).Builders of tree houses sometimes use recycled materials or parts, such as reclaimed window frames, doors and used lumber. One motivation for this is to promote sustainability by re-using resources. Reclaiming materials can also save money compared with buying new materials and can add a retro or abstract style to the design of the structure. Fabrics can be used to produce non-rigid temporary structures that are more like tree tents than tree houses.


Support methods

• Stilts

Tree houses supported by stilts do not need the tree to take any of the weight stress of the building materials and potential strain and injury cased by puncture holes. Stilts are typically anchored into the ground with concrete although new designs, such as the “Diamond Pier”, accelerates installation time and protects sensitive root systems. Stilts are the easiest method of supporting larger tree houses, and can increase structural support and safety. Adding stilts to tree houses built with other methods of support is an option to increase stability and safety.

• Friction and tension fasteners

Friction and tension fasteners are the most common method of securing tree houses. These include nails, screws and bolts. Because this method requires punctures in the tree, the fewest possible number of these should be utilized to minimize stress.Nails are generally not recommended to attach a tree house to a tree. A development called the treehouse attachment bolt which can support greater weights than earlier methods, is now commonly used by many tree house companies worldwide.

• Suspended connections

Tree houses that use this design are among the least cluttered and unique types today. Rope and cable are the most used methods of suspension. Suspended tree houses are among the most difficult to construct and access. There are sefty in forest of animal.

Words relating to 'Tree house':

- Canopy

- Stilts

- Tree

- Natural

- Rope

- Suspended

- Secure

- Living

- Protection

- Forest

Alnwick tree house

Looking at the images, its clear its a complex set out, with several elements to it. It's not simply one building, but several, creating a range of rooms with several entrances for tourists. This made me think it is in need of signs and guides helping visitors make the most from their visit, by being able to find everything they came to see. 

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The worlds biggest tree house:

Located in Crossville, Tennessee, the Minister’s House took Horace Burgess 14 years to build around an 80-foot-tall white oak tree, with a diameter of 12 feet. The wooden edifice itself is 97-feet-tall and it’s supported by six other strong trees that act like natural pillars.
Burgess says he started working on this giant treehouse after he had a vision back in 1993. God spoke to him and said: “If you build me a
treehouse, I’ll see you never run out of material.” And so he spent the next 14 years building God’s treehouse, using only salvaged materials, like pieces of lumber from garages, storage sheds and barns. So, as far as Horace is concerned, God did provide him with all the materials he needed.
Although he never bothered to measure Minister’s House (he estimates it must be about 8,000 to 10,000 square feet), he did count the nails he had to hammer into it, 258,000. It cost the 56-year-old landscape architect around $12,000 to construct the world’s biggest treehouse.
400-500 people visit Minister’s House every week, most of them tourists from out of state who heard about a 10-story-treehouse somewhere in Tennessee.

An absolutely huge tree house, the biggest in the world, and of course, it's in America.

Although tree houses have a practical use, aesthetically they can be beautiful, and architecturally amazing, this can be seen in the close attention to detail.

Although the house looks like its supported by the ground, it's supported entirely by just 6 trees.

A maze in my eyes.

A shot showing the sheer size and height of the structure.

INDESIGN - Inspiration

Magazine spreads working with the monochromatic colour palette I want to achieve.

A interview piece of Alex Fury, a very simple, classic choice of layout.

This is a page inside a book, but could quite easily mimic that of a magazine spread due to choice of layout.

A very simple spread, with a de-saturated image and a few sentences. I like the use of negative space here, there's a lot of it, focusing our attention on the small detailing and text.

I really like the cut out of text here, using a line to simply stop it at a diagonal. 

The next few spread work with typography and it's form, using alignments to re create letterforms.

Extremely simple, yet effective. I absolutely love this and the below piece.

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE - Poster inspiration

I wanted to start looking at posters to find some inspiration regarding the layout of my type and images. I found these, some simple, some complex.

A textured-like company logo and re-branding design.

I'm a big fan of text banners, so when I saw these i totally fell in love, that along with having a screen printed aesthetic. I have used a similar layout in some of my posters, taking the inspiration from these, along with the use of banners.

I find this so clever, using one material to construct something which is so closely related. In this case, using tree's to construct lungs, of which take in the oxygen tree's release. Very simple in layout, but so effective.

A series of posters I found which I really like, The continuity especially, by using a grid, and simple lined images, a beautiful series of posters has been created.