Kent Lindvall founded Treehotel in July 2010 and predicts Welcome Beyond about how precisely everything occurred and what it is like to stay up a tree 60 km south in the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden.
Someone said that the thought of the Treehotel was created on a fly fishing vacation to Russia.
Kent: That’s correct, nonetheless it started with a film that’s made throughout Harads village by a couple of guys from Stockholm. The idea would have been to create a documentary about finding their roots and connecting making use of their childhood. The specific film was Tree Lover given that they really liked to keep up in trees and tell stories about them. In this film they built a tree house, and after the film was finished it absolutely was left empty, and then we asked these to let to us.
Then, three years ago I took that idea with me at night on a fishing vacation to Russia. There were three architects for this trip then when we sat round the campfire using a glass of vodka I presented the concept for that Treehotel to them. Specialists them if they were interested to make the forest with us not to mention they loved the theory. They came up, looked over the forest and said, “This is my tree!” there would have been a big fight to get the best spot for their tree house. Chances are they went home and began to draw to generate a concept for individuals.
I’ve come across many tree houses. They are all virtually identical but yours are something very different. Was that your brief to the architects?
Kent: Yes, I told the architects that they must create a unique design and that they cannot speak to one another. That they to make it happen by themselves and couldn’t look at every other ideas. That they had to make something new that you just couldn’t find any place else in the world.
We also decided that this tree houses must be comfortable resort rooms useable year-round, even in severe cold temperatures or rain, and that they has to be safe and easy to succeed in with a better system than standard ladders.
Do you have a favorite tree house?
Kent: No, all of them are so different. The treatment depends on the mood. If you need to be free and alone, you stay inside the Bird’s Nest because nobody can reach you up there.
You can pullup the steps which has a handheld remote control and you are free just like a bird. It’s only got a little window but it is great perform some deep thinking. The Blue Cone gets the biggest window using the best views and it is on your own overlooking the river. The Cabin is good for a few, to get a honeymoon maybe. It provides a really nice, big bed at the center of the room where you can see nature outside out of your pillow. It does not take biggest tree house with 24 square meters and contains a big open terrace on the roof.
Needless to say the Mirrorcube is very unique. We told the architect that he must make something can work with nature. He the other view that nature must reflect within our buildings. The Mirrorcube fits everywhere, because wherever you put it in the forest, it is just the reflection of its surroundings, a reflection of nature.
I heard that this UFO is on its way soon…
Kent: Yes, we’re building it now and it’s also almost finished. So we have decided on the one from then on already. It’s a Finnish architect that has sent us an extremely nice idea. We’ve got a couple more great drawings from other architects but we will only do an additional for the present time.
Were contemplating building a service house this autumn so people can have shower and dressing rooms or a small shop. And we will also make a chapel for individuals for them to get married inside the forest.
Your philosophy would be to are now living in harmony and respectfully with nature. Might you elaborate?
Kent: Whenever we did start to make these tree houses, we didn’t destroy anything – neither the floor nor the trees around them. We simply find places where we do not should cut any trees. We make small paths that suit in perfectly with the forest if you don’t take anything out, while you appear here it’s absolutely untouched nature.
We build the houses on living trees therefore we have to take care of them in the future. They need to survive and support the tree houses. We used special wood that is heat-treated and never impregnated with chemicals. Of course it’s much more expensive but also in over time it’s going to be superior for nature. The toilet product is 100% environmentally friendly. As an incinerator, it burns everything into ash and then we can return it to nature.
You are offering quite a lot of activities for that guests. What exactly are one of the most popular ones that guests enjoy doing?
Kent: Most of the activities we’ve are attached to nature, so it’s dog-sledding and snow-shoeing or walking inside forest. It’s actually a really wild area so you can see moose just about any day round the tree houses, in addition to reindeer.
In summer we also have kayaking, hiking and our very own activity called village walking. We take our guests over a walk checking background and culture up here. We have been then invited to private homes and have a coffee or tea even though the family informs us their story of living here.
