Treehouses of all shapes and sizes have graced our pages over the years, but the thing about these elevated dwellings is that they tend to be made of timber. Mexican architect Gerardo Broissin paid little attention to this building convention with the design of "chantli kuaulakoyokan," a transparent treehouse in Mexico City.
The treehouse takes its name from the native Mexican language of nahuatl, and loosely translates to "house in the treetop." It was conceived as part of Design House, an annual event during Design Week Mexico that sees designers and architects restore different parts of an abandoned house in line with their own personal tastes.
Charged with giving the home's outdoor patio area a makeover, Broissin started by turning the garden into a micro-forest of sorts, covering 70 square meters (753 sq ft). Perched above it, the treehouse features seven square meters (75.3 sq ft) of floorspace, and is supported by a centennial ash tree with floating glass steps leading down to the micro-forest floor.
It mightn't be everyone's idea of a secret childhood hideaway, but by wrapping the entire house in glass rather than timber, Broissin aimed to explore ideas around security and the privacy we have come to expect from a constructed space. The design is also a reference to a Mexican play called "Privacidad" (Privacy), which questions the idea of privacy in the age of social media.
Source: Gerardo Broissin
