Does the allure of treehouses fade with age?
Philip Jodidio’s heavy volume, ‘Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles in the Air’ addresses this question.
An art historian and popular author on architecture, Jodidio worked with Taschen to explore the subject of treehouses – the forts our childhood memories.
The beautifully illustrated study takes you on an imaginative journey of the best tree houses in the world, some designed by architects, others a labour of love by passionate craftsman. With an emphasis on the ‘most remarkable, unusual structures’, you can’t help but imagine yourself perched up in these stunning abodes. The book covers all different treehouse styles, from the romantic to the contemporary; a restaurant, a teahouses, a hotel…these tree houses all offer a renewed perspective of the world.
Patrick Hruby Unlike so many architecture-based books, this one caters for all ages, as LA-based artist Patrick Hruby illustrates each tree house creating an accessible point of entry for children. However Jodidio’s study transcends the mere look-book as he engages and integrates intelligent, historical discussion as both a practical and mythological totem. “The treehouse tells a story as old as architecture, or perhaps more clearly, as old as human shelters,” he writes. “To be protected, to escape, and today to find peace and proximity to nature…with its roots in the earth and branches in the sky, the tree is the model of Gothic architecture. Without trees in the forest there would be no columns and perhaps no temples. From vertiginous heights, a man could look down on daily existence like a bird in flight, a step to breaking the boundaries of the ordinary, a hint of immortality”. Subsequently, this book reinforces that tree houses are not reserved to fairy tales or exotic far-away places; instead they exist in our reality but it is up to us convert these infinite possibilities into real, functional forms.
