The Tree House by Mount Fuji Architects

The Tree House designed by the Japanese study Architects Mount Fuji rises in Tokyo in a residential area is densely urbanized. The project name refers to the development of vertical space in the residence, around a large central pillar, reproduce the branching of a tree.

The particular promiscuity with the adjacent dwellings and the consequential sense of “oppression” generated from the site, led the designers to exclude a horizontal architecture for a vertical design, because the house could be as isolated as possible from the context.

“The geometry obtained on the basis of the Cartesian system, normally used in architectural design – the study says Masahiro Harada Mount Fuji Architects – brings benefits in terms of expansion according to a fixed horizontal orientation. A system does not suit this context. Hence our decision to adopt the polar system, which describes the position of an item based on distance and angle from the center of the site.

The Tree House is built around a central pillar of 1.1 m in diameter that divides the interior space into four different areas. The pillar is composed of 32 panels, LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) * 51 mm thick, assembled at right angles, which rotate 360 degrees. Each panel, turning, growing by 55 mm compared to the previous year. Resulting in complete rotation, an area with increased height of 1.7 meters. The different heights that are created with this system distinguish each of the four areas where space is articulated.

“When you sit down, close to the central trunk, and look up, you can see the development of the individual radial elements, reminiscent of the branching of a tree.”