What do Ewoks and Julie “Butterfly” Hill have in common? They have discovered the ethereal magic of living up in a tree.
Tom Chudleigh of Vancouver Island, Canada has discovered the same magic with his Free Spirit Spheres, handcrafted tree houses that bob among the trees like giant apples.
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Chudleigh calls his design a bio-mimicry. Each sphere attaches to a web of rope. The web connects to whichever strong points are available. This replaces the foundation of a conventional building. A tree house sphere uses the forest for its foundation, so the occupants of a sphere then have a vested interest in the health of the trees. Each sphere has four attachments on top and another four anchor points on the boom. Each attachment is strong enough to carry the entire sphere and contents.
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A suspended sphere is tethered by 3 nearly vertical ropes to each of 3 separate trees. This distributes the load evenly over the 3 trees and results in a stable hang. Like an inverted three-legged stool, there will be almost equal tension in each of the three suspension ropes. The sphere resides in the center of the triangle formed by the 3 trees. It can be slung from 5 to 100′ off the ground, depending on the size of the trees.
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If something really big, like a tree, falls through the web then some strands will break and let it pass through. The sphere remains suspended by the remaining strands. A major disaster like that is not likely, but possible. Everything, including spiral stairways and suspension bridges, are hung from ropes. Trees are protected where the spiral stairways hug the trees and ropes pass around the trees. The spheres are well adapted to life in a large mature forest.
The sphere concept borrows heavily from sailboat construction and rigging practice. It’s a marriage of tree house and sailboat technology. The wooden spheres are built much like a cedar strip canoe or kayak and suspension points are similar to the chain plate attachments on a sailboat. Stairways hang from a tree much like a sailboat shroud hangs from the mast. The joinery is yacht style with much brass trim, varnished wood and cane doors. They have closets on either side of the door.
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A sphere is accessed by a spiral stairway and short suspension bridge. The two lower back suspension points of the sphere are tied horizontally to the two back trees, to keep the suspension bridge from sagging when it is walked on. The door faces the “door tree” and the suspension bridge connects the two. A helical stairway spirals up or down from the suspension bridge to the ground or next level.
Two Spheres, named Eve and Eryn, are available for overnight rental year round. Eve rents for $125 a night or $199 for two nights while Eryn rents for $175 a night or $299 for two nights Eryn’s rate is based on 2 people. The motion in a sphere is a slow gentle rocking when the wind blows. The rope tethers are almost vertical which lets the treetops move considerably while hardly moving the sphere at all. When another body inside a sphere shifts his/her weight the motion is abrupt. This is because the mass of the sphere is low.
In the Eryn style, there is a double bed on the right centered under the 40″ window. A settee with table is placed in front of the 42″ window on the left. The back wall opposite the door provides a galley area with counter cupboards and a sink. A microwave and refrigerator are also installed. Above the galley area there is a loft bed with full sitting headroom at the center. Circular shelf segments connect the loft bed to the cupboards on either side of the door. An outhouse and washroom are located nearby on the ground.
Free Spirit Spheres can also be purchased as completed projects or as shells and component kits. Wood spheres are made of two laminations of wood strips over laminated wood frames. The outside is then finished and covered with clear fiberglass. The result is a beautiful and very tough skin. The cost of these are sold for about $125,000-$150,000.
Fiberglass shells are also sold at $39,000-$45,000. The skins are waterproof and strong enough to take the impacts that come with life in a dynamic environment such as the forest.
Both wooden and fiberglass spheres are insulated. Vinyl upholstery fabric is stapled to the frames (lines of longitude). Each fabric joint is then covered with a decorative wood strip. The wood strips come together at the top and give a nice cathedral ceiling effect.
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A Bus Conversion would fit into your Blog. Love your posts.
Good idea, I’ll do some research or if you can suggest a site or two I would appreciate it…Kent
Hi,
Years ago…circa 1977, I was living in Seattle, Washington and was invited to a party in Issaquaw. Way up in the hills was this mid-size house…very attractive. We had a beer blast going outside and I suddenly had to go to the bathroom…#2…not a piss. So, I went inside the place and asked to use their bathroom.
The wife pointed me to the bathroom and I headed off towards it, admiring the rather eccentric design of the interior of the house as I walked through the place. Got to the bathroom and noticed the door was a airliner bathroom door. Inside was your typical bathroom except for a few rather odd things…the towel rack was a steering wheel, and the window was your typical bus window…finally it dawned on me I was in the cab of a bus.
When I finished my business, I made mention of how surprised I was about their bathroom and the wife sat me down on their sofa in the living room and opened up a photo album….
Their “house” was basically two large school buses driven onto a ramp, both in opposite directions, onto steel “I” beams over a cement foundation. Once in place, the buses were jacked up, the I-beams removed and then let down on two rather large steel supporting beams. Wheels were removed, engines removed (both were converted into an electric generator), and the acetylene torches were sparked up…
The center opposing walls were cut out in an arch shape, the inside was framed up with 2-by-3 studs, wallboard was put up, a roof was framed up and other customizing was done. From the outside (or the inside for that matter) you’d never know it was two buses connected. Really bizare and she claimed they only spent something like $5000.00 U.S. dollars for supplies and construction.
Will never forget that place and have always had it on my mind…perhaps some day when I purchase a small plot of land somewhere…..
Jim
Cute, expensive.
Why use vinyl upholstery fabric in a structure that costs $150,000?
Looks Fun !
really cool idea, although it freaks me out a bit…not a big heights person. But it is very cool. They should figure out a way to connect them all. that way, a person can have several and it’ll be like having a normal house. or they can go visit other people without having to go down (more of an issue with the higher ones). But this is pretty spiffy 🙂
Uber tacky upholstery.
Pretty cool. But I think we’re paying about $100,000 just for the cool factor. I can see it worth 20-50 but 150, rip.
shocked at how much money they are. cool for a kid to play in and perhaps as a holiday resort place with lots to do in the day, but other then that a waste of money
I’d like to vacation in one, but I wouldn’t go for the idea of having to trapse outside to use the restroom on a permanent basis. Imagine if the weather is really cold or rainy or if you had the flu…
I agree with all of you guys here on the price… Other than that I think it’d be pretty amazing to stay in one for a few days. View of the forest is nice. I guess I just wouldn’t want to be the only one in the forest. Haha.
THATS A REDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR SOMETHING SO SMALL. REALLY MAYBE 15K
Wow, what inventive spaces! I love it.
I’d love to live in one of these, my house is right by a forest, and we own a little bit in. I could just come down when I need to use the rest room. Do you think that would work?
I love the concept. But, so much money! Well, I got to dream for a little while. (Sigh) I understand that the craftmanship is very high. A well-built wooden sailing craft is very exspensive, too. I’m sure that the quality is good, but the fabric choises?
Thank you for posting this.
The ?ool idea and its realization. It’s a bit pricey, but an excellent solution for nature lovers who want get rest and relaxation from the bustle of the city. Very nice!
Well, it looks nice but I’ll probably hate it when I need to pee ib the middle of the night