Bachstelze

PhotoAlasdair Jardine
LocationEberschwang, Austria

Eberschwang is a small community in Austria’s Innkreis, between the cities of Salzburg and Linz. Despite its beautiful landscape, this rural region does not belong to the country’s best-known tourist destinations. Nor, in terms of contemporary architecture, does this area lay any claim to being a site of pilgrimage for architects as is the case, say, for Vorarlberg. Naturally, this does not mean that the inhabitants of the Innkreis do not have an eye for modern architecture or appreciate it in their midst. The client’s family likes to spend holidays and weekends at its second home, enjoying the quality of country life and getting together with relatives. Although the children are still very young, they already appreciate the benefits of a treehouse. Adults do in any case. The clients wanted to have the treehouse built beside a small stream on the southern edge of their property. It was also important to the family that, from the treehouse, one could see the main house and the landscape, and vice versa. The architecture of the treehouse did not necessarily have to correspond with the usual visual standards – experimentation with regard to shape and material was permitted. Another highly appealing idea was that of being able to catch trout from the treehouse terrace. Following a number of sketches, a design was developed with a very long, narrow terrace with a separate treehouse.

The oxidised Corten steel lends the treehouse cabin, with its sloping surfaces, a very sculptural appearance. The reddish glaze of the treehouse terrace and the support structure has been coordinated to match the metal’s rusty surface. Angular windows open up the view in all directions and their shape is subordinated into the overall look. The terrace is largely anchored in the trees, while the treehouse’s weight rests on eight asymmetrical, slanting oak stilts. The two elements are connected by means of a small catwalk with a stairs. This bridge helps to overcome the difference in altitude and places the entrance to the treehouse firmly centre-stage.

Inside the treehouse cabin, the visitor is met by surfaces made of untreated oak. The built-in furnishings include upholstered reclining and sitting areas, integrated pull-out drawers and a sideboard. At the end of the treehouse, the large panorama window offers a view of the trees and meadows. A special detail here is the horizontal glassed area which adjoins this window almost seamlessly and overlooks the little stream below. An integrated hi-fi system with powerful speakers is good enough for even the most demanding music lover. Whether there’s electro or birdsong in the background, this long-legged refuge is definitely a space for the senses.

Trees one birch and two ashed
Height terrace: 3,5 m, cabin: 4,6 m
Bearing structure Terrace suspended in a birch and two ash trees; two beams support the front part of the terrace; the treehouse’s weight rests on eight asymmetrically arranged, sloped oak stilts.
Interior area 8,8 qm
Terrace area 13,6 qm
Façade construction From inside to out: oak boarding, tongue and groove, untreated; 19 mm OSB; 80 mm mineral insulation; membrane; 20 mm air space; 4 mm Corten steel sheet, oxidised

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