Location: Odda, Norway
Client: Sally & Kjartan Aano
Year: 2020
Project-team: Helen & Hard Architects – Reinhard Kropf, Siv Helen Stangeland, Dag Strass, Simon Baumann, Odin Olesen
Structural Engineer: Oddvin Myklebust, Nordplan
Timber Construction: Røynstrand
Photos: Sindre Ellingsen

This exterior look at the house shows the whole structure supported by the tree trunk.

This is the main entrance of the house with a wooden plank walkway.

This nighttime view of the house showcases the warm glow of the glass windows and main entrance.

This is a close look at the shingles of the exterior walls.

This close look shows the frame of the glass walls.

This is a view of the front of the house with a wooden plank walkway leading to the main entrance.

This is a close look at the main entrance walkway with a an elevation and railings on both sides.

The wooden walkway has grooves that allow for foot traction and stability.

This nighttime view of the main entrance of the house showcases the warm glow of the main door and the window above.

This is a view of the lake view of the glass wall.

This is a view of the interior with wooden tones brightened by the natural light.

The glass wall has a built-in wooden bench and ledge that can also double as a coffee table.

The interior has a couple of wooden lounge chairs facing the view of the lake.

The floor, ceiling and built-in ledge are all in one wooden tone.

The large glass windows allow for maximum viewing of the surrounding landscape.

This is a close look at one of the wooden lounge chairs.

This is a close look at the ceiling of the cabin with a light wooden tone.

This is an exterior view of the house and how it is shaded by the surrounding tall trees.

This aerial view of the house that stands out against the surrounding tall pines.

The house is surrounded by tall pine trees.

This is an illustration of the house's floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's cross section elevation.

This is an illustration of the house's site plan.

This is an illustration of the house's site plan and terrain.

This is a 3D representation of the house's framework and support.

The steep forested hillsides around the Hardangerfjord above Odda, is the location of two Woodnest treehouses. The architecture is a specific response to the topography and conditions of the site itself. Inextricably crafted from nature, each treehouse is suspended 5-6m above the forest floor and fastened with a steel collar to the individual trunk of a living pine tree.

Stemming from the client’s wish to create a unique spatial experience that connects to both the ordinary and extraordinary sensation of climbing and exploring trees, our aim was to create a space that truly embodies what it means to dwell in nature.

The journey to the site begins with the 20minute walk from the town of Odda, on the edge of the fjord, and up through the forest via a steep winding path. Each treehouse is accessed via a small timber bridge, leading the visitor off the ground, into the structure, and up into the tree.

At just 15m2, carefully organized inside around the central tree trunk itself are four sleeping places, a bathroom, a kitchen area, and a living space. From here one can look out and experience the vast view out through the trees, down to the fjord below and across towards the mountains beyond.
At the very core of the project is the appreciation of timber as a building material.

Inspired by the Norwegian cultural traditions of vernacular timber architecture, together with a desire to experiment with the material potential of wood, the architecture is structurally supported by the tree trunk itself and formed from a series of radial glu-laminated timber ribs. The untreated natural timber shingles encase the volume creating a protective skin around the building, which will weather over time to merge and blend with the natural patina of the surrounding forest.

Woodnest is a project that quietly sits in an extraordinary situation. The architecture aims to allow people to pause and appreciate the smaller details of the natural environments we inhabit; the grain of timber, the daily rhythm of the forest, and the sensation of dwelling in nature.