Wooden sticks shield the facades of this house in Belgium by Ghent studio Architecten De Vylder Vinck Taillieu, while a tree bursts through the roof.
Screening exterior walls at both the front and back, the crisscrossing wooden batons feature integrated doorways.
Grey tiles clad the remaining two walls, the roof and even the chimney.
Clusters of missing tiles create openings for windows, while missing tiles on the roof give way for branches of the tree that is enclosed between the rear screen and the wall behind.
There are three storeys inside the house, where a chunky concrete frame is left exposed.
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Photography is by Filip Dujardin.
Here's some more information from Architecten De Vylder Vinck Taillieu:
House Bernheimbeuk at GB.
House.
A small site. A small house.
The small budget.
An even smaller house.
Square meters don’t matter.
Mechanics of living versus unexpected sense of space.
A small site. And huge trees.
Tree in house. Tree in room.
Room outside. The drawing.
Or, rather, the tree. Or, rather, the column.
That drawing.
Is the section of the column on which and around which the house rests.
A column that has become a tree. Among the other trees.
Structure. As starting point.
As finishing point. What is in between is a quest for making and imagining.
So how a column might be.
Might become.
Design architects: architecten de vylder vinck taillieu (Jan De Vylder, Inge Vinck, Jo Taillieu)
Design team: Jan De Vylder, Inge Vinck, Jo Taillieu, Lauren Dierickx, Gosia Olchowska
Structural Engineering: UTIL Structuurstudies cvba, Brussel
Shell of construction and finishing: Bouwonderneming Verfaillie bvba, Beernem, client themselves
Carpentry: Dirk Janssens bvba, Zaffelare:
Roofing: Ducla bvba, Beernem
m2: 99 m2
Budget: Private
Client: Private
Location: GB., Belgium
Design phase: 2009 – 2011 (delivered)
its not finished…
no it's not finished, I hope the architect starts thinking about architecture, living and nature in stead of trying to be 'original' in an agressive way
Poor Tree! Anyone knows that the tree needs the size of its crown to get enough water. If you cut the roots for foundations things get worse!
Pretty sure they wouldn't have cut the trees roots, I'm sure the structural engineer would have devised a way to raft over the roots and avoid interfering with them
Hi. the concrete tree is designed to avoid the most importent roots of the real tree.
In one way, I really like this (eg the concrete structure in the living space), on the other hand I get the feeling the client did some work on the finishing once the photographs had been taken (a sofa next to the staircase gap, really?).
I like it very much, but they should use some guardrails over there! Even if they don't have children, even adults can fall and get serious injuries. I like especially the concrete "tree". I will show it to my structural engineers colleagues, but I bet they will argue that there is little seismic activity in that country!
An increadibly charming and fun little house.
A lovely use of colour.
A cheeky winner. Gd stuff.
Joyce Kilmer would have loved it. Ingenious. Love the dining set. Daft.
With the exposed frame, I'd worry about the tiles being blown off or shattered by a heavy gust of wind.. (the same goes for the effects of the tree dangling during a storm)
it's brilliant, the form, the colors, the materials, the exposed structure, the tree.
btw the whole point of the central pillar structure is to protect the tree, see the section. the foundation is shallow for the same reason.
Beautiful wood detailing and i love what looks like tapered concrete forms, the color looks just like the beech bark.
One thing I wonder about are how they dealt with the structural roots. Beeches have notoriously sensitive root systems. While it looks like they did a good job with structural piers on 3 of the 4 sides of the tree, how did they deal with the structural roots on the house side? (seems like it would be an expensive tree to fall down or have to take out in five years)
Eventually that tree's gonna fight for its freedom ;)
Did the architect wrote the comments on the pictures?
Man…it is scary….
and
why is there a need to shield the house?
It doesn't shield nothing. not even the sun.
So maybe I don't get the all thing.
if I am wrong I am very sorry.
i am a big fan if his buildings!
because of the unfinished way of this house it make my imagination run free.
and it make me happy in a way that nothing have to be finished.
A conceited pseudo-environmental plaything.
Unique concept but why? I just had a 60ft tree 12 ft from my house cut down to avoid total disaster one day from a storm. We are having frequent high winds. I hated to do it but will sleep better. Interesting structural concept mimicking the tree.
Just to reassure everyone; my company advised in the planning and assisted in the proper procedures during the construction, and we check up regulary on this 100 year old Copper Beech. The owner has become very attached to and is very aware of the beechs’ needs.
Having said that: It remains very much a case of: “Don’t do this at home”.
For the past 20years our company has become specialized in maintaining 100% vitality in trees, during building sites, and sending the trees on into a healthy future in an ever sprawling urbanization.
Every project having its uniqueness, terms and conditions, based on know how & clear communication.