Eco Ewok Living

Author
MATT HICKMAN

The 'Tree House' from industrial designer Benoît Fray is an energy-efficient abode with appeal to both treehuggers and <i>Star Wars</i> enthusiasts.

I’ve never been much of a Star Wars guy — or a fan of sci-fi and fantasy in general — but the minute I laid eyes on the renderings for industrial designer Benoît Fray’s ‘Tree House’ concept for (appropriately) French tree house design firm, Dans Mon Abre, two words immediately came to mind: Ewok village.

I mean, really, Fray’s concept is straight out of Return of the Jedi. However, ‘Tree House’ —which isn’t an actual tree house per say but a towering structure built amongsttrees — is more influenced by environment design than Ewokian building habits. Built 5 kilometers (about 16 feet) from the ground with sustainably sourced wood, the campsite-specific homes can accommodate two to six people in generous living spaces with equally generous wraparound terraces.

Although it’s not exactly clear how the homes will be powered, their design calls for the use of renewable energy sources ... I’m guessing photovoltaic panels although I don’t see any included in the renderings and I wonder how effective they would be if the homes are shaded by the trees they are built around.

Pretty cool stuff; I imagine a grouping of these structures would make killer vacation rentals given that you don't have a serious case of vertigo. I’d be curious to see the final result if and when the ‘Tree House’ makes the leap from concept to reality. 

For further information log on website :
https://www.mnn.com/your-home/remodeling-design/blogs/eco-ewok-living