Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
In 2010, Missouri Botanical Garden invited treehouse-design submissions—with a few caveats. They had to be harmless to the trees, ADA-compliant, sustainable… “I joke that we asked them to build the treehouses with both hands tied behind their backs,” says special exhibits manager Lynn Kerkemeyer. The result: “TREEmendous! Extreme Tree Houses,” on view April 30 through August 21.
The AMAZEing Rings: This wood-and-fabric structure (left)—designed by Wash. U. students—takes its inspiration from a tree’s rings.
Nomad Nest: This dome—made from salvaged branches and saplings—looks like “an upside-down bird’s nest.”
A Treed Place of Play: Remember those impromptu hide-outs we relished as kids? This treehouse includes eye slits and hidey-holes.
Sweet Gum Tree House: Resting by a sweet gum tree (natch), it provides a new vantage point for the lily garden, sculpture pond, and cedar trees.
Reflections Tree House: No, it’s not the sappy Thomas Kinkade style of “reflection.” This structure is inspired by the roots of tropical trees, which mirror the canopy.
Treehenge: It looks just like it sounds, with utility poles and a “pad” of pallets resembling the monument. This is also the starting line of the Great St. Louis Tree Hunt, a search for 20 marked trees around the region.
House+Tree=Phi: Plato’d be proud: This teaches about the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence, two formulas that express the order of nature.
A “Living” Room in a Garden: Turning Christmas on its head, this commissioned structure recycles evergreens into a living room–like space around—what else?—a grand tree.
Inside the Tree House: This hexagonal building, with tunnels and shutters to explore, integrates green-roof technology, solar power, and a recycled rainwater system.
