Kevin Kelly Architects and Stand are pleased to be able to share that our submission for tree 2, nature’s architecture and biomimicry, has been chosen as the winner of the high profile RBG Kew Treehouse competition.

Using principles borrowed from nature, our treehouse is an inhabitable amphitheatre. Mimicking pinecones, the structural strength of the pods comes from their shape and their arrangement as a cluster. Organized over two tiers, for those who want to keep their feet on the ground or the climbers amongst us. It is a space to sit down and look up, to witness the greatest designer of them all, nature.

We looked beyond the traditional idea of a ‘Treehouse’ to provide a fresh interpretation of what it can be. We wanted to capture the childhood intimacy offered by treehouses or a den made from cushions: a hinterland, concealed away but yet neither inside or outside – somehow inhabiting a threshold.

We used digital programming as part of our design process and applied it to a centuries old construction technique and material. This re-frames willow weaving and elevates it beyond the realm of craft to contemporary architectural discourse. Our woven willow is choreographed into digital patterns inspired by Kew’s research into the DNA and genome sequences of conifer trees.