Innovative office spaces seem to be becoming an increasingly popular way for companies to stimulate the creative juices of employees, as well as to establish more enjoyable - and playful - atmospheres in which to work. Moreover, perhaps one of the most unusual workspaces associated with this phenomenon is the office treehouse.
Bringing businesses and individuals closer to nature, both in body and mind, these structures provide not just a touch of childhood nostalgia, but also a fresh setting and perspective for brainstorming game-changing business ideas. Here we take a look inside ten of the coolest arboreal office spaces around the world.
10. Banyan Drive Treehouse - Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles’ Banyan Drive Treehouse is something special: a multifaceted private dwelling that functions as an office, studio and recreational retreat for its owner - an artist and big admirer of the natural world - and his wife. This backyard Brentwood Hills structure was designed by Californian practice Rockefeller Partners and was completed in 2009. Standing at an elevation of 12 feet and at the foot of a great pine tree, the 170-square-foot cedar-clad getaway can be accessed by clambering up a concrete stairway and on to an open set of stairs constructed out of metal and timber planks. What’s more, the treehouse features everything one could possibly need, including a studio space and lounge, a fireplace and a bathroom. It also affords vistas of downtown Los Angeles and serves as a peaceful haven for reflection and work.
9. The HemLoft - Whistler, Canada
Perched in a mountainous area of Whistler, Canada, this self-financed creation is an office retreat with one heck of a view. Over a three-year period, software entrepreneur-turned-craftsman Joel Allen stealthily hauled his tools up into a secluded neck of the woods to construct the eye-catching wooden orb - dubbed The HemLoft owing to the fact that it rests in a robust hemlock tree. Built using predominantly reclaimed materials, the 200-square-foot treehouse was completed in 2011 with assistance from Allen’s girlfriend Heidi and at a personal cost to its creator of approximately US$6,500. Unfortunately, because it was erected on crown land, the treehouse’s future has been uncertain since pictures of it were published in Dwell magazine, and Allen has sought advice on what to do. In any event, the eco-friendly structure features a small workstation, a sleeping loft, and an outdoor deck looking out onto the Tantalus Range.
8. Tree House Office - Shropshire, United Kingdom
This treehouse retreat in England’s Shropshire countryside is the ideal escape for forward-thinking businesses and enterprises looking to inspire their workforces or brainstorm ideas in tranquil surrounds. Built by U.K.-based treehouse construction maestros Blue Forest and finished in 2011, the structure is fashioned out of a number of different types of timber, with cedar used on its roof and walls - and a lovely rustic lounge space inside. Amenities such as lighting, heating, television and internet are all incorporated; so too a small kitchen area that features a wine cooler - perfect for celebrating good news - plus front and rear terraces that are great in warm weather. As for coming and going, this treehouse-cum-office can be accessed via a set of wooden steps, and when it’s time to leave, a slide provides a swift and fun way to exit.
7. Pleasant Bay Lookout - Bellingham, Washington
For Peter Frazier, working from a custom-built treehouse office was an excellent proposition, not only for better focus, but also for improving his physical health. Operating in the role of customer experience consultant, Frazier realized that his sedentary office life had led to him piling on the pounds. Hence, as part of an effort to get fitter, he built his own treehouse in Bellingham, Washington - in woodland looking out over Chuckanut Bay - carrying out his work from the space and also, a little unusually, standing up the whole time. Completed in 2006, the structure was made using steel for its body and columns and features a jutting deck and living roof. The 144-square-foot treehouse has now been renamed Pleasant Bay Lookout and is rented out by Frazier via Airbnb.com - but it’s still an ideal spot for any businessperson seeking to get closer to nature while they work.
6. Treehouse Office - Edgartown, Massachusetts
“[People] like to come here, look at the art propped on shelves and the books stuck everywhere and the rocks, shells and sea glass that line the windowsills,” notes Jan Pogue, who turned this treehouse sanctuary in Edgartown, Massachusetts into an office when maintenance work was undertaken on her home. With workmen running amok in her main dwelling, Pogue found that her un-insulated treehouse gave her a sense of serenity. Perched in the woods around it owner’s house, the 81-square-foot building rests on stilts and for stability is attached to a pair of trees. Inside, Pogue sparsely furnished the cosy retreat with, among other fittings, a wooden bench, an electrically powered fireplace and a comfortable office chair.
5. Private Treehouse - Seattle, Washington
This luxurious-looking dwelling on a private residence in Seattle, Washington was built by local environmentally conscious company TreeHouse Workshop. “Our eco-friendly approach is to work with as many reclaimed materials as possible,” company co-founder Jake Jacob has revealed. This particular project included the use of wood salvaged from older houses as well as construction materials retrieved from the surrounding locality. Completed in December 2008, the treehouse blends in neatly with the owner’s residence and functions as a home office, a place in which to rest, and a changing area for a hot tub situated right next to the structure. Perhaps the coolest feature, however, is a zip-line that the occupant can use to speedily get from the nearby crow’s nest to the grass below.
4. Knowlton Family Treehouse - Durham, Canada
Serving as the homely office retreat of designer and blogger Lynne Knowlton, this rustic treehouse is located near the Canadian town of Durham, Ontario. The eco-friendly structure was conceived by Knowlton herself and was constructed using exclusively salvaged materials, including tin taken from a barn for the rear walls and various vintage elements - among the latter, some French doors. A pair of hammocks found on the treehouse’s front balcony are perfect for downtime or brainstorming ideas, while a kitchenette, a bathroom, and an attic with a comfortable queen-sized bed can also be enjoyed within. When not utilizing the treehouse as a personal workspace, Knowlton rents it out from early June to late September.
3. Casa na Árvore Office - Londrina, Brazil
Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Brunelli’s company, Casa na Árvore - which translates as “house in a tree” - specializes in building treehouses, so it’s only fitting that the firm’s head office in the city of Londrina is accommodated in a magnificent example of its craft. The workspace was constructed using the strong South American woods guajuvira and angico preto, and indeed it’s seemingly at one with the silk cotton tree branches that wind in and out of the structure. Brunelli - who first became interested in developing treehouses at the age of 12 - accesses the 105-square-foot arboreal office via a raised walkway from the second story of his home. Well, if your business is dreaming up treehouses, where better to do so than inside one?
2. The Treehouse - Hechtel-Eksel, Belgium
Nestled in the woodlands of the Belgian municipality of Hechtel-Eskel, The Treehouse is both visually smart and ecologically sound. The structure was realized in 2012 by German-based firm baumraum as part of a collaboration between Sappi, the Flemish Forest and Nature Agency and the local community. It features two stylishly furnished cabins on separate levels - the upper for business, the lower for refreshments, tech-enabled work and leisure - as well as adjoining terraces and a staircase. A completely CO2-neutral system, meanwhile, warms and cools the treehouse, with additional green measures including an eco-friendly water purification setup and energy-preserving LED lighting. The Treehouse was conceived as a model to promote sustainability among organizations and those in positions of power, and baumraum states that it is intended to facilitate “bridg[ing] the gap between economy and ecology” - making it the perfect spot for businesses looking at ways to help save the planet.
1. Bear Creek Studio - Woodinville, Washington
Built by TV treehouse expert Pete Nelson and his crew as part of Animal Planet’s Treehouse Masters series, this stunning studio on the famous Bear Creek recording facility near Seattle is a sight to behold. Music producer and engineer Ryan Hadlock, who runs Bear Creek Studio, decided that he’d like something unique put up alongside his recording studio - which itself is a repurposed old barn. At an elevation of 18 feet and ensconced between a pair of western red cedars, the treehouse provides a wonderfully inspiring and out-of-the-way retreat in which musicians can write and record. The studio and creative workspace was launched by musician and former The Voice coach CeeLo Green and boasts eco-sensitive elements such as a composting toilet.
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