Sauntering between the pine trees, your eyes would stroll on the circumference of an orb created by 350 birdhouses. The Architectural firm BIG created a profound habitat, embracing a mimicked ecosystem. Pinning down exceptions and ironies, this structure gives the visitor an experience of nesting amongst the birds.
Amidst the Swedish woods lies the curated Biosphere, all tinted in the Scandinavian architecture. The suite’s design propagates the belief in minimalism that walks along this simulated habitat. Stitching is an architectural marvel that brings contentment and interdependence to living species, which accumulates in a Danish concept, “Hygge”.
Hygge emerged in early 2016 and became a long-lasting fad, but Scandinavian design reflects so much more than that. It was a movement that started in the 1950s and emphasised a clean look. Catering to a minimalistic aesthetic, this ecosystem accentuates the art of austerity with clean lines, neutral and subtle palettes that are easy on the eyes, and unsolicited ornamentation, with raw and organic materials.
The founder of BIG and architect behind the Biosphere, Bjarke Ingels, quotes his experience of living in Treehotel’s pre-pandemic as “a complete immersion in nature and rejuvenation”. Inspired by this core concept, the designer ideated the co-existence of birds and humans, rendering an orb of life.
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The Silhouette of An Orb In The Forest
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Suspended amidst the pines of Sweden’s Harad’s locality and located in a remote forest of the Swedish Lapland, is the Biosphere. It is a room that’s designed for The Treehotel, which is known for its wide variety of cabins, with each having a distinct identity that responds differently to the forest. The Treehotel comprises eight designed hotel rooms, including a mirrored glass box, a charred timber treehouse and a giant nest.
The concept of Treehotel is jilted towards modern architecture pendulums in the bracket of brutalism. The usage of glass facades mitigates the livelihood of birds, which can eventually be fatal. Dragging this situation to a period, Ingels deduced the idea of developing and encouraging species to feel invited and “Nest”. To incorporate that aesthetic, all the birdhouses in the Biosphere are made of wood with simple and clean designs. Furthermore, the structure has glass everywhere, giving visitors views of the trees beyond, while the birdhouses provide privacy and interior shade.
This 111 square foot orb, along with 350+ birdhouses, has been put together by Scandinavian architects Rintala Eggertsson, Videgård Arkitekter, Snøhetta and Tham. Wrapping the hotel room in a spun habitat of species makes visitors the epicentre of witnessing the ecosystem drive. However, creating residences for local birds was a priority for the hotel owners, which is why they involved a local ornithologist Ulf Öhman with the creative team.
With the alarming climate change responsiveness, we witness, multiple species are quoted as “endangered”. It is about time that various communities should bring this to the fore and take steps toward conservation. Jilted towards modernity and brutalism, the proceeding architecture steps toward sustainability, building natural habitats, affordability and luxury.
The Treehotel exemplifies the entailing of co-existing and creating an ecosystem where guests would be fully immersed within the towering pines and for wildlife to make a permanent home. The goal, in this case, is that visitors would eventually take action on their bird population, some of which are endangered due to climate change. This is sought as an opportunity to inspire people to nurture and preserve while going back to their homes and building their birdhouses.
Walk into the Biosphere
To facilitate the local bird population, architect Bjarke Ingels aims to create a natural and sustainable experience for visitors. Foregrounding this as the objective of the design, the architecture poses the following features in the biosphere:
- The Treehotel embraces eight suites and each of them brings in a milieu of sustainability that encircles a natural habitat, chaperoning a futuristic womb for Green Architecture. You can spend some meditative time in other suites of the Treehotel, including Mirrorcube, Dragonfly, and Bird’s Nest, to name a few.
- While designing the Biosphere, the architects conceptualised one of the basic rules of design, i.e. “Form follows Function”. Amalgamating these elements of nature opens up many possibilities for seizing sights of the evergreen.
- The Biosphere is the eighth -room on the property. The interiors of each unit can be accessed via a suspension bridge that connects the forest floor to the treetop entrance.
- 350 birdhouses of varying sizes will protrude from the structure forming a pine cone-like shape around the room. This also allows ample natural light to highlight the interiors and provide a cosy and warm environment.
Visitors can also fancy a panoramic view of the greenwood from the terrace to the encompassing forest. The architects of the Biosphere quote the placidity that lies in the structure and echoes the subtle singing of birds.
The Treehotel’s room provides an immersive and intimate experience with the triple-glazed, full-height windows and glazed ceiling and floors. It will provide ample spots for guests to birdwatch and admire the surrounding flora and fauna.
Walking into the hotel room, the mezzanine floor layout is sectioned with the living area on the lower part of the room and the bedroom on the upper level.
The hotel room is restricted to 34 square meters, submerged in a material palette with natural wood around. Being all tinted in the same concept of minimalism, the interiors of the suite follow a similar path. A comfortable and warm sitting area followed by a luxury bathroom might remind you of lux lofts.
The effortless and pragmatic interiors would romance you enough for a heartful stay in the Biosphere. The entire unit is equipped with a Rukkamoinika water system with 3 litres of water to dispose of. The suite’s bathroom is luxury personified with a shower and sauna, along with other amenities such as wifi, a refrigerator, a functioning kitchen, etc., to name a few. The idea is that you can still experience luxury while being outdoors.
| Did You Know? An interesting fact about the Treehotel’s Biosphere is that you would think that the suite must be all covered in bird droppings, but a bird never drops where it nests. |
Other fascinating architecturally-eyed suites come under the Treehotel. These include:
The Mirrorcube
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The Mirrorcube measures 4x4x4 metres. The room is surrounded by mirror walls that reflect and blend in with the surroundings. A tree trunk grows through the room and is enclosed by an aluminium frame, which forms the room’s base. Reflecting the surroundings, the room camouflages within the forest.
The Cabin
The concept of designing a cabin in this Treehotel’s location was to construct a platform on a steep hillside with a view of the magnificent Lule River Valley.
The suite can be accessed from a horizontal bridge amidst the trees. A large wooden deck can also be seen in front of the bridge.
7th Room
This suite tickles your curiosity by portraying an intriguing camouflage with a life-size picture of the treetops on the underside of the building. This view can be seen as you walk on the forest grounds and look towards the crystal clear skies.
Bird’s Nest
This room camouflages within the aesthetics of the woodland, but the irony here is that it embraces human life. As evident from the name, this Treeroom’s exterior is shaped like a gigantic bird’s nest.
The Dragonfly
Offering multiple features, this room can be used as a suite or conference room. With its dimensions being 52 square metres, the Dragonfly is the biggest room under the Treehotel.
The UFO
While building the Bird’s Nest, which is largely in harmony with its surroundings, the conceptualisation of an entirely different environment was born. The room is cast in durable composite material to create the lightest yet strongest and most sustainable design possible.
Conclusion
By creating an artificial Biosphere, the designers have made an effort to curate a habitat that disconnects you from the world and leaves you enthralled and longing for more. This concept aims to change the entire lifestyle perspective to encourage an environment where visitors can completely disconnect from the world and celebrate nature’s splendour.
The purpose of the suite revolves around conserving the habitat and incorporating sustainability. Not only does this direct a novel and an anticipated lifestyle, but Green Architecture is what we are looking forward to. After experiencing a stay, the visitors would surely be inspired and content to welcome a lifestyle that motivates an environment of coexistence.
