Tree Houses DOLOMITES
Peter Pichler Architecture has developed a concept for a series of tree house guestrooms in the Italian Dolomites. Taking the form of two-level units ranging from 35-45m2, the Milanbased studio’s Tree House hotel rooms create an extension to an existing hotel as a design-led guest experience. Seeking to maximise connectivity between guest and surrounding nature, the geometric units have been designed with sharp, steep roofs in reference to the fir and larch trees populating the forest below, and set upon concrete foundations, with additional support provided by structural glass walls. Constructed sustainably from local wood – stained black to integrate the units with the surrounding landscape – each features a small reading and lounge area on the lower level, and a bedroom and bathroom on the upper, the latter tucked away towards the rear of the structure. The two areas are connected by an internal stairway, with the glass walls acting to flood the spaces with light, whilst each unit has also been oriented to optimise views, removing any visible barrier between guest and forest. Interiors, meanwhile, are lined with untreated fir wood for a warm contrast against the cold exterior. The project has been conceived with a ‘slow down’ ethos, pertaining to a form of tourism wherein nature and the integration of a project’s architecture and design within it plays a primary role in the overall guest experience. “We believe that the future of tourism is based on the relationship of the human being with nature,” explains Peter Pichler, founder, Peter Pichler Architecture. “Well integrated, sustainable architecture can amplify this relationship, nothing else is needed.”