Living among the trees

“Living among the trees”; trees are an integral part of the architecture. The three homes are perched on an elevation above the forest floor, the forest landscape continuing uninterrupted beneath and around the houses.

The exterior walls on the ground floor are made out of mirrored glass, making the plinth of the home de-materialise, as it were. It seems not to exist at all, giving the upper floors an appearance of ‘floating’ in between the trees and the ground. The variety of trees separating the homes and on the terraces amplifies the image that everything becomes one with the surroundings.

The upper floor consists of timber frames with panoramic cut-outs offering grand views. It is an omni-faceted building where, on the first floor, the spacious roof terraces provide ample opportunity for quality, diverse outdoor living.

Biodiversity is a key feature on the roof terraces, including a common vegetable garden on the first floor; the possibility for residents to cultivate their own fruit, vegetables and herbs adds to this unique quality of living. The vegetable garden and the other plants receive rainwater, as well as water from the greywater system.

The trees, which stand between the homes and on the terraces, protrude through the floors above them, creating a truly wondrous natural element in the homes and making living here an integral whole with the natural context of this beautiful green environment. We have chosen to apply a filigree timber open façade for the fencing on the first floor (that follows the same contours of the building surface). In addition, by choosing a lighter grey colour for the timber (treated with an equal weathering coat), the overall appearance isn't just more neutral, it is also much less prominent. Adding an upper floor creates more verticality and a slimness in the visual shape. The deck and other timber parts are also finished in light grey. The overhangs of the timber structure with its diversity in transparency, allow the application of timber to dissolve seamlessly into the backdrop of a small woodland.