Tree Houses • Andreas Wenning

As a child, I had a book about a little boy. He climbed up the gnarled, thick trunk of a huge tree, slipped through hollows in the old, hefty trunk, and swung himself up to unimagined heights. Far above, he found himself in a treehouse—not a small shack of boards, but a spacious and cozily furnished room with a kitchen, a table with chairs, and a large window that opened an unobstructed view, from airy heights, across the wide countryside. In my childish mind, this book with its fine illustrations and sketches sparked incredible fantasies. How I would crawl into it, live there, and always retreat into it, free and independent from the often difficult realities of growing up. Back then, a treehouse was out of reach for me, because I grew up in a plain apartment block on the edge of town, where there were trees, yes, but also caretakers who would come down hard on children climbing high into the treetops—if they managed to catch them (which didn’t stop me from climbing plenty of trees anyway).

Years later, as an adult, I thought of that book again and, as one does with secret dreams and wishes, I confided them to the one entity you can ultimately ask even the silliest or most embarrassing question: the Google search engine. There you very quickly come across the website of baumraum. I studied the sleekly designed site in detail and was pleasantly surprised at what a wonderful project baumraum is, because it transports my childhood dream into reality. baumraum is an architecture firm founded in 2003 by architect Andreas Wenning, and since then it has been designing and building treehouses.

When you start looking around for treehouses, you realize there are some very beautiful examples. A romantic cabin by a lake, a small cottage in the style of a cozy house with mullioned windows, high up in the branches of a gnarled tree; or even an old ship, or a multi-story structure designed like a pirate’s hideout that wraps around an old tree and looks like a robbers’ lair. baumraum does something different, though—more than just recreating a typical treetop hideaway. Andreas Wenning takes the concept further and transforms that classic image for our time. Wenning’s treehouses also blend seamlessly, and with a touch of romance, into dense canopies. Yet they have a modern, clean, and understated style. With light wood and large windows that open up a wide panorama or look up into the dense leaf canopy, they are still retreats—but not dark, musty, hidden caves (which are of course charming in their own way). In line with the ideals of our time, they are open and bright, yet closely connected to nature. They’re refuges from urban life and the city’s hectic pace, with comfortable interiors—sometimes with electricity and a stereo system, with wool felt and cushioned seating that invite you to relax.

Whether perched directly in the treetop or connected to the ground by complex wooden structures, Wenning has realized numerous projects of all kinds, impressively demonstrating his skills as an architect. More than twelve years after founding baumraum, he can look back on many projects and has long showcased the results of his work on his website. When I happened to visit the baumraum site again, I came across his illustrated volume (there’s a preview here), now already in its third edition—which I, of course, had to have, because it’s a joy to sit on the sofa in the evening, wrapped in a soft blanket, gaze at beautiful treehouses, and dream.

When you open Tree Houses – New Architecture in the Trees for the first time, you immediately sense that Wenning knows what he’s doing—that he’s well-versed and highly experienced with these small dwellings aloft. The photo book is high-quality, sits well in the hand, and the cover alone promises treehouses beyond old clichés. On a first, quick browse, you pause at several of the many photographs—especially those that show the interiors of these sometimes unusually shaped little houses. The photos are top-notch, taken with great care, and the light shows that the right moment was chosen (for example, a treehouse on Lake Tegernsee is shown in evening light).

The book begins with general information and background on the history of the treehouse, tracing its development in temporal and cultural context, and even glancing at protest movements in which treehouses played a role (e.g., protests against the construction of an additional runway at Frankfurt Airport). He discusses an old tribe in Indonesia whose people build their homes high in the crowns of the dense rainforest, talks about treehouse hotels, and treehouses in literature, film, and comics (even Bart Simpson’s treehouse gets a mention). There’s also a chapter dedicated to trees—because, of course, without them nothing is possible. Without going too deep into the details, you get a solid overview of what matters for a tree’s condition and a sense of how complex these living beings really are. There are beautiful illustrations to enjoy here as well.

Let it be noted here that every tree is a living organism and, in connection with a treehouse, becomes part of a living construction. Naturalness always involves change, so safety and vitality can diminish as a result of the natural aging process or an adversely changing environment. (p. 31)

Wenning shows excellent taste throughout: in terms of structure and especially the chosen typefaces, the book is executed with refined elegance—very much in keeping with his architectural style, whose simplicity is echoed in the fonts used for headings and chapters. A detail that stood out to me very positively.

After this introduction to the world of treehouses, he presents 36 projects realized between 2003 and 2014. With many images and background details, you gain a good insight into the factors that shaped each plan: how the site was chosen and what surroundings the treehouse was built in. Every treehouse is a highly individual project, planned and executed with great love and effort, tailored to the client’s needs. The range extends from small boat-like houses suspended directly in trees to a large information center primarily supported by ground-anchored posts. Another was built near a cliff north of New York, not far from the Hudson River, and yet another hangs hidden directly above a pond biotope. I most like the small, tucked-away treehouses that are still bright and friendly, with a panoramic window offering both a view outward and upward into the canopy.

A short chapter shows three events for which Wenning designed exhibition spaces in the form of a treehouse, as well as a sculpture he created for a design museum. Finally, he presents a chapter on visions for future treehouses, illustrated with realistic renderings—some with very futuristic designs. He doesn’t shy away from palm trees or even an underground dwelling. In any case, you’ll find diverse ideas here that are feasible, though their realization may be uncertain due to a lack of clients. But you never know—looking at the projects makes it clear that larger commissions would be no problem for Wenning.

I find especially charming a page at the very end with many small photos showing Wenning and his team building the treehouses. That section could easily have been longer, because one is curious to see the effort and operations involved in such a build. Perhaps a further chapter in the fourth edition wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Conclusion: With Tree Houses – New Architecture in the Trees, Andreas Wenning presents a highly successful illustrated volume on his extraordinary, modern, and nature-connected treehouses. Versatile, imaginative, and very much worth seeing, his small masterpieces created over 11 years put every showy mansion in the shade. I can recommend this book to anyone who loved climbing high into trees as a child and always dreamed of retreating into the crown of these very special living beings—lifting off and, for a brief moment, leaving the hectic world behind. Reading this book reminded me how easy it still is, even as an adult, to dream the way I did as a child.

Book information: Tree Houses – New Architecture in the Trees • Andreas Wenning • DOM publishers • 304 pages • ISBN 9783869224091