Tree house restaurant grows up
11 Dec 2008
Most New Zealand backyards have some form of tree hut and many budding architects cut their teeth designing the perfect hideout, but grownups can now look forward to reliving their childhood in a real tree house restaurant.
Suspended 10 metres up a giant redwood tree and just off NZ’s main arterial route at Matakana north of Auckland, the tree house is like a fairytale come true.
Reality ad campaign
The novel concept, surely a world first, originated as an advertising campaign for New Zealand Yellow Pages - a company that claims it "helps you get any job done".
Advertising agency Colenso decided that instead of faking the tree house for the Yellow Pages commercial, they would have a real one built.
The project had "to have an extreme degree of difficulty" to fit the brief, and despite the added complication of having to build an unplanned access pathway for wheelchairs, the tree house has been completed in just four months.
Architects dream job
For Auckland architects Peter Eising and Lucy Gauntlett of Pacific Environment Architects, the commission was a dream come true - being paid to design and build a tree house was the stuff of childhood fantasies.
"The easiest part was coming up with the concept," says Eising. "The trickiest part was to make it hang there."
Worldwide exposure
Now their concept has captured the imagination of architects, designers and artists around the world who've followed the tree house project on the internet.
"Once we had identified the ideal site and redwood tree, it was important to create a significant point of difference from any other tree house.
"We were inspired by the hanging 'organic' form of the butterfly's chrysalis. This worked well in creating a memorable image during the day as well as a 'lantern' effect at night where the skin becomes transparent and the interior glows. It attaches itself to the tree and becomes part of the tree," says Eising.
Difficult layout
The dramatic form is circular yet split along its axis, and is wrapped around the trunk. The split allows access from the tree-top walkway at the rear, and provides a balcony to the northern view over a meadow below.
Timber construction was used for its flexibility and sustainable qualities, and the structure is attached to the tree trunk with steel collars and pins.
The restaurant layout has been tricky with the round dining-room surrounding the tree trunk making table placement a challenge. While the dining area is up in the tree, the kitchen and other facilities are safely located on the ground.
Advance bookings
Though the project began as an advertising gimmick the Yellow Treehouse is now reality and is set to become a place where childhood fantasies can be realised with grownup food and drinks.
The Matakana region is renowned for fresh local produce, award-wining wines and farmers markets.
The novel restaurant will be open to the public for a limited time, from January 9 to February 9 2009 and already 500 bookings have been received.
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