Dezeen Magazine

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

Snøhetta's charred-timber treehouse is the next addition to Sweden's Treehotel

This charred-timber cabin by Snøhetta will be raised 10 metres above the forest floor and feature a "stargazing net" to allow guests to watch out for the Northern Lights.

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

The cabin is the latest addition to Treehotel, a boutique hotel located in a pine forest in Swedish Lapland. Set up by Kent Lindvall and his wife Britta in 2010, the business already has six themed treehouse suites designed by Scandinavian architects.

Snøhetta's design – which will be the tallest and largest of the treehouses to date – is expected to complete later this year in time to receive guests in early 2017.

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

"I met Kent and he said 'we have been waiting for Snøhetta', and then he said we would really like you to make us another tree room," said Snøhetta partner Jenny B Osuldsen at the unveiling of the project yesterday.

The firm's design plays on the traditional Scandinavian cabin, and is covered in lengths of charred timber.

But the whole structure will be lifted off the ground into the crown of a pine tree so it can appreciate views of the foliage and the Northern Lights – the main reason why tourists travel to the Arctic Circle.

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

One of the pine trees will stick through the centre of the building and be surrounded by a rope net. Here, guests can sleep under the stars and maximise their chances of seeing the Northern Lights.

"There were already six rooms and they're all objects with such great personalities, and we were thinking how can we make a new room that would be something extra," said Osuldsen of the design.

"We thought the most iconic thing is maybe the forest itself," she continued. "All the other projects are more or less suspended from the trees so we thought maybe we can make something that makes the forest more important and not the tree room that important."

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

The cabin will be located beside a flying-saucer-shaped suite and the Mirrorcube, which is arguably the Treehotel's best-known structure.

The underside of the structure will be covered by a sheet of aluminium printed with a black and white photograph of the treetops above it.

Treehotel 7th Room by Snohetta

Inside, the 55-square-metre space will be lined in light-coloured timber. It will be furnished with a wood-burning stove, and pieces made from oak, chrome and sheepskin.

Two double bedrooms will be arranged on either side of the net terrace, and connected by a north-facing lounge.

Like the other suites, it will also feature custom-designed lighting by the Swedish studio Ateljé Lyktan. Named Flip, the light fitting will be made from two pieces of birch veneer joined with a piano hinge.

The whole structure will weigh 40 tonnes and be supported by 12 columns. It will be accessed by an ambling staircase, while an electric lift will allow guests to easily transport their luggage up the treetops.