UK practice specializing in large-scale infrastructure projects designs an adorable treehouse

Hidden in the rural Dorsetshire woodland campus in England, the Woodman's Treehouse is a stylish two-story suite that fuses contemporary design with traditional methods. Brownlie Ernst and Marks, a UK practice better known for designing infrastructure, teamed up with skilled furniture makers and greenwood craftsmen — including the client and his family — to construct the little treehouse.

With 35 m² of interior space, the recently completed treehouse is already making a big impact on visitors, with its first season in operation already fully booked. It's also on the longlist of the 2017 RIBA House of the Year Award.

Built independently from the English oak tree it encompasses, the treehouse is a cozy rotunda that comprises the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Its entrance is a heavy oak block stressed ribbon bridge.

The treehouse is clad with outer timber and inner timber linings and “punctuated by openings and niches to create an effective impression of thick walled solidity in defiance of the lightweight construction.” Occupants will encounter framed views of the surrounding woodland throughout the house.

The project “displays a masterly [yet playful] control of form and function” and draws from various architectural and cultural references such as Borromini, Palladio and Stirling to create an enriching experience for occupants.

Photos courtesy of RIBA House of the Year Award.