Do you want to try something new and rather adventurous? Check the new tree houses, the Free Spirit Spheres!
If you ever feel like exploring the woods a little doing stuff like climbing trees, building tree houses, there is something very unusual out there for you, especially if you go to Canada for that.
Free Spirit Spheres are pre-fabricated micro houses, used especially by people on vacation. They are projected, built and distributed by Tom Chudleigh in his very own workshop, using the same technique - that's called "strip built", which is also used for entertainment boats. These spheres have captured the attention of design art lovers.
Their very name points out their most significant characteristic. Thus, they are ecological constructions because they act like a therapeutic space. They are made entirely out of wood and have no foundations. They lean on cables on at least 3 trees, and 3 people can build the sphere in one day only.
The interior has a very good potential due to the interesting furniture, which may draw the attention away from the fact that there is no toilet inside. The building of these spheres is based on an engineering and artistic vision. They are handmade, and the principle they are based on is pending those spheres from a rope web. They are unique in the world.
The very name "Free Spirit Spheres" suggests that it is for those who consider themselves to be wild spirited, enjoying freedom and nature as much as possible. The uses of these spheres are limited only by one's own imagination.
Therefore, they can serve for meditation, healing, research, photography, writing, leisure, game watching, and plenty of other things. These called Spheres, Eve, Eryn and Melody are even for rent overnight.
What does the concept of such buildings come from? This "Spherical Tree House" combines concepts of sailboat building and practice of rigging. Thus, in short, we could say that it is a mixture of sailboat technology and tree house building. The way in which the wooden spheres are built resembles much the way kayaks and strip canoe are constructed.
But this type of spherical architecture also comes with many less conventional traits. As a consequence, the ordinary, conventional houses have their ceiling, walls and floor separated by hard lines.
On the contrary, in spheres the ceiling and the walls get merged into one and the same. It becomes a united structure and there is only one wall, in fact. A sphere can have only two sides - outside and inside, there is no other separation of space.
Mimicking nature and biological creatures, the sphere resembles a nut attached to a rope web. This web can be connected to any available strong point nearby. Thus, there is no need for foundation like in the case of typical buildings. We could say that the foundation for free spirit tree house sphere is the forest itself.
Because of that, those staying in the spheres will have more interest in protecting the nature of the forest, in the health of everything around them. Also, the web rope can symbolize our connection with nature, with the so-much-talked-about Eco-system.
What is this web made of? For each sphere, there is a number of four attachments on the boom and other four attachments on top. The thing is, every attachment can indeed hold the whole sphere together with its interior content.
It all depends on the size of the trees, not every tree can be used to hold so much weight. Also, one suspended sphere is connected by three almost vertical ropes to each of the 3 different trees. So, the weight of the sphere is evenly distributed to all the three trees, ensuring the stability of the hang.
Thus, there is an approximately equal tension amongst all the three ropes of suspension. The sphere is placed in the middle of the triangle which is actually shaped by the three trees that are used.
The creator of this type of unusual building also has future plans for sauna, shower and washroom to be incorporated inside the sphere. He says that his personal goal would be, producing 10-15 spheres and then hanging them in a wide zone of old trees' forest. Like a sort of "spiritual retreat" for himself and everyone who is interested in this concept.