Futuristic Tree Houses Take Us Back To Nature

by B.J. Murphy

Both nature and technology are being integrated into a design that’ll allow homeowners to enjoy the best of both worlds. Known as Primeval Symbiosis, designed by Konrad Wójcik, this tree house design goes far beyond our childhood playscapes and re-envisions home infrastructure and development altogether.

Blending into the natural forestry landscapes, Primeval Symbiosis is a project designed to relieve the carbon impact on the climate and the human-industrial impact on our overall environment. The goal isn’t to stop technological development, but rather to maximize its usefulness and efficiency to ensure a healthy living space for all biological life on this planet.

To achieve such a goal, one of the main decisions made by Wójcik was to design these homes in a way that not only correlated with a tree’s physical appearance but in how it interacts with the surrounding environment as well.

Made up of “Cradle to Cradle” (C2C) certified resources, the materials used in the construction of these homes are not only 100% recyclable, but can be re-used in every possible way again. The reason for this is to harness similar eco-friendly abilities as that of trees and biological organisms.

Containing four different levels, each level attains its own self-sustaining usefulness, from air ventilation to energy accumulation, using both the sun and biodegradable waste. The top level would attain 40m2 PV solar panels attached on the outside, while the bottom level would acquire a technical unit meant to extract bio-waste to use for both energy and gas, alongside a secondary compartment used for rainwater accumulation. Each home would be able to house two people comfortably.

The landscapes in which these homes would be located are strategically placed to not only have the greatest positive impact on the surrounding environment, but to also ensure an easy access and connection to both neighbors and nearby cities. They’re to be constructed in such a way that maintains self-sustainable functionality, safety against harsh weather, and a systematic interconnectedness with all life near each vicinity.

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

One of the greatest moments in human history was the Industrial Revolution, bringing our species out of the cruel realities of mother nature’s dictatorship. Unfortunately these positive facets were only limited to our own species, negatively affecting the rest of the animal kingdom and detrimentally impacting our environment. Here, in the 21st century, we now have the resources and technical know-how to not only help alleviate the negative consequences of our previous actions, but also create a living environment that will allow all life on the planet to thrive in their own way.

With the exponentially growing open-source market for 3D printers, imagine how architecture will evolve when each individual will be allowed to print their own home however they see fit, using designs that wouldn’t normally be possible in today’s architectural standards. How would our surroundings inspire our designs? Perhaps using 3D printed hybrid resources that are both inorganic and biological! The sky is the limit, after all. Or is it?

February 18, 2014 By B.J. Murphy

About the author

B.J. Murphy is the Editor and Social Media Manager of Serious Wonder. He is a futurist, philosopher, activist, author and poet. B.J. is an Affiliate Scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and an Ambassador for the robotics company Humai.