Designer Treehouses on Display At San Antonio Botanical Garden s a n a n t o n i o Treehouses have touched most of our lives in one way or another. Who doesn’t feel nostalgic when recalling the thrill of building a clubhouse in the branches or dreaming of living in the leafy canopy like the heroes of the movie Swiss Family Robinson. Human nature seems to have an engrained concept of climbing in and lying under trees—we’re attracted to the beauty and sheltering aspect of nature. The San Antonio Botanical Garden, whose mission is “connecting people to the plant world through experience, education, and research,” played on this natural tendency by holding its Terrific Treehouse competition in partnership with AIA San Antonio and the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. The goal of the competition was to create inspirational, magical, and creative treehouses that would capture the imagination of the community and the young at heart, no matter what age. Several of the entries were by local architects and designers as well as several by area families and children. A panel of nine judges, from various backgrounds, selected the winning entries. Committee members included an architect, a parent, a student, a Botanical Society board member, a community representative, a marketing expert, and members of the Botanical Garden staff. Out of numerous ideas submitted, nine were chosen to comprise the Terrific Treehouse exhibition that opened Aug. 30. Terrific Treehouses will remain on display through Dec. 7 at the Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place. Each of the nine treehouses chosen was built on site through collaborative efforts of the designers, family and friends, and local businesses. Potential building sites were identified within the Botanical Garden’s grounds, each with specific trees selected by the nine treehouse designers. “I have experienced the excitement that treehouses bring to a public garden setting and to the faces of the visitor,” recalled Bob Brackman, director of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, who organized a similar exhibit in 2002 for the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville. “The imagination of the design community is endless. There are no two treehouses the same. I especially enjoy seeing the combination of this creative talent into the natural beauty of our trees at the Garden.”
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The Windcatcher
Bamboo Pavilion
Inspirational Treehouse
Re-born
The Terrific Treehouses lineup is as follows: • The Windcatcher (by Emily Chappelear and Rodrigo Rivera) is a fence-type structure surrounding the tree created out of colorful pinwheels that stay in constant motion with the wind. • Re-born (by José Balboa) is created out of reclaimed material from a demolished horse barn, placed over the aqueduct of the Garden, giving visitors a spectacular view of San Antonio. • Flower Fort (by Kristen and Jeff Fetzer, AIA) is based on the hibiscus logo of the Botanical Garden, with benches placed inside and outside of the fort so visitors can read about the insects featured on the panels of the walls. • Aeolian Treehouse (by David Strahan, AIA) is fashioned from metal tubing and string with a canopy of “leaves” that amplify the harp-like sounds coming from the structure. • Bamboo Pavilion (by Kristin Wiese, AIA, and Mia Frietze) is created out of movable bamboo panels that visitors are free to move as they pass through the structure, creating a different image of the treehouse as the day goes by. • Inspirational Treehouse (by Nadia and Francisco Zarate, AIA) is based on the principles of feng shui that will protect its visitors, with a large canvas membrane along
with natural materials that creates a serene place to collect one’s thoughts. • Magic Treehouse (by Hanna Hughes and parents, Shawn and Xochitl Hughes) is inspired by the Magic Treehouse book series, built to resemble a rocket ship where imagination can soar and the heart can learn to believe in the unimaginable. • Greek Revival Sandbox (by Gabriel Orlando Juarez) takes cues from that architectural period, giving visitors a place to interact with the playfulness of a sandbox juxtaposed by the folly itself. • Our Green Treehouse (by Lina Luque) is designed to demonstrate sustainable concepts, such as water collection (rain collection gutters) and energy harnessing (photovoltaic panels). Additional support was provided by the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation; Gretchen Swanson Family Foundation; Valero Energy Corporation; the USAA Foundation, a Charitable Trust; RDM Group, LLC; Nathalie and Gladys Dalkowitz Charitable Trust; Ford, Powell & Carson; Bartlett Cocke General Contractors; and the Sabinal Group. A l a n
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