Designers plant the seeds for a high-tech version of the Swiss Family Treehouse. Click inside for video
By Gregory Mone Posted 11.01.2006 at 2:00 am 3 Comments

by Graham Murdoch Take a look inside the grow-your-own treehouse. Also, see video below. Graham Murdoch

If solar power and recycled building materials just aren´t green enough for you, the brains behind the Fab Tree Hab might have the perfect pad. Architects Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona, along with environmental engineer Lara Greden, have designed a house that will grow from a few seedlings into a two-story, water-recycling, energy-efficient abode. The Fab Tree Hab,
a mix of ancient and ultramodern technology, isn´t
merely environmentally friendly. It is the environment.

Instead of building a home out of green materials, the trio figured, why not construct a living, breathing house? â€Something that´s alive and thriving,†Joachim says. They hope to plant the first house within five years, but for now, they´re working with Israeli arboriculture firm Plantware, testing techniques for growing the lattice-like weave of vines and roots that will form the walls.

Despite its odd exterior, the house will look normal on the inside. The walls, packed with clay and plastered over, will keep out the rain, and modern technology will be welcome. Yet there are still a few practical kinks to work out. Joachim wonders, for example, how a planning board will react to a house that constantly expands.

Each house will take at least five years to grow, depending on the climate, but Joachim envisions the structures being grown and tended to on a farm. Customers could pick a finished tree habitat and then have it transported to and replanted on a lot within 100 miles. Here, a look inside and out at what´s sure to be the greenest house on the block.





Can't see this? Download Flash, or get the video in Quicktime format here.

3 Comments

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timrzzaq

from Bordentown, NJ

04/23/08 at 8:26 am

Dr. Mitchell Joachim of Terreform to make presentation on sustainable whole ecological architecture for BOOST's GSS-SET 2008-09 Launches: Saturday, June 7th at Classics Used and Rare Books from 12 noon until 2pm. Call (206) 202-2883 or email timrazzaq@comcast.net for more details.

WESKetch Architecture's Anastasia Harrison will conduct a presentation, "Practical Greening Practices for Family Health: Indoor Air Quality Challenges and Opportunities", for Building Open Opportunity Structures Together's launch of its year-long public awareness forums and community capacity building course of instruction. Anastasia joins Dr. Mitchell Joachim and others for the official launch of GSS-SET's stakeholder registration drive.

GSS-SET is a year-long series of public awareness forums and community capacity building workshops will provide enrollees from around the state of New Jersey with customized education and training that will help them in choosing, developing, and deploying individual and group projects to be implemented for their respective organizations, and in their home-town communities and neighborhoods. Model projects/programs will include, but are not limited to: sustainable neighborhood plans; urban science/career paths for high school students; clean energy retrofits for nonprofits, churches, and small businesses; advocacy for community and environmental benefits agreements; eco-entrepreneurial ventures; green business and industry inventory and data centers; sustainable design assessment teams; and unionization of the emerging green collar workforce. Partners and resources have been identified for GSS-SET graduates who choose one or more of these areas of post-program focus.

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SimonMayport
11/29/10 at 10:29 pm

What a fun and playful idea for a home! Thought I must admit I don't imagine many people willing to wait 5 years for a livable home, despite it's numerous benefits, still I'd be eager to see one once it's finished.

Regards,
Simon
www.eurocell.co.uk

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ColonCleaseExpert
02/08/11 at 2:30 pm

Fascinating concept - but I'm sure there are drawbacks such as size (it looks small)! Will have to watch for the developments of this one.


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