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How to Build a Tree House How to Build a Tree House
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Illustration by Terunobu Fujimori
Nature

How to Build a Tree House

A Simple Guide
Łukasz Stępnik
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time 3 minutes
Łukasz Stępnik:
studied Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, and then honed his skills at various architectural design studios in Poland and Switzerland. Łukasz is also an editor of “RZUT”, a quarterly architecture magazine.

In order to build a tree house, it is not necessary to have access to massive budgets or extensive knowledge in the field of architectural engineering. Sometimes, all we need is a little bit of wood, determination and… an application submitted to the right local authority, but let’s forget that last item for the time being.

The fundamental issue we need to address is, of course, the choice of the right tree or group of trees to build on or around. Specialists consider walnut, oak, ash, lime, apple and beech trees to be best for this purpose. The tree should be at least 50 years old.

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Łukasz Stępnik:
studied Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, and then honed his skills at various architectural design studios in Poland and Switzerland. Łukasz is also an editor of “RZUT”, a quarterly architecture magazine.
Publish date: 14.08.2018

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studied Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, and then honed his skills at various architectural design studios in Poland and Switzerland. Łukasz is also an editor of “RZUT”, a quarterly architecture magazine.

Human beings used to live up in the trees and may yet return there. There are a lot of reasons why we might want to go back into the crowns of trees and live among the leaves. It might be a little uncomfortable up there, but it would also be a fantastic experience.

Our ancestors climbed down from the trees about five million years ago. Some researchers believe that this happened as a result of growing animosity between the Ardipithecus species and their larger, more predatory cousins the chimpanzees, which were able to jump from branch to branch, but moved across flatlands more awkwardly. Today’s monkey species probably rue not following in the footsteps of human beings and coming down to earth. Yet in spite of the total success humanity has made of making solid ground its home, we probably still have some nostalgic sense of wanting to return to the good old days of lounging in the shade of leaves for hours upon end. Human brains still perceive trees to be oases of safety and calm, which is why we feel so good when surrounded by them, and react so emotionally to the idea of having trees removed from our public spaces.

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