The tree house has always attracted the admiration of children: it is a secluded place just a few meters above the ground, where you can dream and play. However, these days tree houses are meant not only for children, but also for adults. In this case, the focus of attention shifts towards a modernly equipped additional living space for relaxation, a home office, a comfortable studio or workshop. In recent years, more and more architects and designers have been building tree houses, including Andreas Wenning, who in his baumraum workshop designs and builds original objects that contrast with their crisp silhouette against the winding branches of the trees.
“My ambition as an architect is contemporary design level: unusual attractive shapes are very important to me. My favorite working material is wood, preferably locally sourced. But I also use materials such as zinc sheet because it surpasses wood in terms of weight and strength and gives the project an interesting architectural contrast,”says the Bremen-based architect.
The Frog King tree house in Münster sits above a pond, and its cross-section resembles a hazelnut. An example of the symbiosis between wood and zinc is the Duren tree house in Groß-Ippener near Bremen, which is shaped like a cut egg. This association is emphasized by the creamy white acrylic glass gables, in the middle of which there is an elliptical window.
For the roof of this house, a cladding made of "normally rolled titanium-zinc RHEINZINK pre PATINA" was chosen. The difficulties were in the details adjacent to the windows, doors and parapets. “All of these have been excellently overcome by the roofing contractor: curved cornices adhere gracefully to acrylic glass gables, and rims prevent rainwater contamination. The security of the edging of windows and doors, which stands out from the titanium-zinc surface, is ensured by the circumferential keel-profiles. The connection to the skylight was especially difficult. To this end, the rounded titanium-zinc plates have been carefully positioned and covered with a connecting profile,”- this is how Andreas Wenning describes the installation of the roof.
Tinning of the arched roof was carried out in the RHEINZINK standing seam system. Eight asymmetrically placed stainless steel columns support the entire structure. Rounded surfaces of the interior are illuminated by glazed ceilings and two long, narrow windows on the sides, offering beautiful views of the surrounding area. An interior with cleverly arranged drawers and other storage systems provides plenty of free space for work and play. Walls, floors and furniture are made of white lacquered ash.
Andreas Wenning first graduated as a carpenter and then an architect, and created his bureau baumraum in 2004. He didn’t believe that his idea of tree houses of different sizes and functions would be so successful at first: “It was like a tub of cold water on the head - but we must be able to dream. Now his houses can be found not only in Germany (Bremen, Münster, Munich and Tegernsee), but also in Austria, Italy, Hungary, Brazil and the USA. Another such house with a zinc roof was commissioned this September in Belgium.
Architects around the world choose RHEINZINK materials to bring their vision to life. RHEINZINK products attract them with their wide application possibilities in any project, from the avant-garde to the traditional.
Representative office of the RHEINZINK company on Archi.ru.
