Studio Hardie were commissioned to design and realise the Tree House as a temporary installation for Channel 4 and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.   

The idea was based on a literal version of a ‘Tree House.’ We wanted to create a place that would be fun for both adults and children to spend a weekend.  The design evolves around creating a wry smile, from entering through the trunk to a sleeping space made from a cargo net and a slide between levels.  

The biggest challenge was creating such a large structure with no foundations. We used large cantilevers to give the frame balance and create large, canopy like platforms. We manufactured our own glulam sandwich platforms, which allowed the structure to be light weight and versatile.  

The timber frame forms the skeleton of the structure and in rather an unusual manner, is constructed in two levels. As each level would just about fit into our workshop, this meant we could fully complete level 1, disassemble and pack off to site, before constructing level 2.  

For the canopies we used thinly milled pine, which allowed just enough flex and strength. When all the thin pieces of timber were joined together, it created a rigged outer shell allowing us to create elegant natural curves.  

The timber was sourced and milled within 25 miles of the site, we like the idea of felling a tree in one part of Sussex and re–erecting in another.