See 7 Houses Built Around Trees That Connect Us With Nature
From Dubai to Lahore and Mexico, this budding trend takes living with nature to a whole new level
As we embrace planet-friendly lifestyle choices more and more, sustainable design philosophies become second nature. And houses built around trees are a growing trend that shows we are headed in the right direction.
Most construction involves clearing land to make room for buildings, but what if that doesn’t have to be the case? These homes with trees growing through them show what’s possible when designers opt for a less clear-cut foundation and for something a little more wild. “Whether an overt display of a green thumb or an endeavour to harness the bodily benefits that nature’s oxygen releases can bring, it’s becoming a staple of the luxury home to have a full-grown tree indoors,” reporter Elizabeth Fazzare wrote for AD. Below, we survey seven unique examples of houses built around trees, or with trees growing through them, showing just how blurry the line between indoor and outdoor living can get.
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From a single storey bungalow in Lahore that was built around a 40-feet-tall Fiddle Fig tree that was already on the site, to a fort-like Dubai villa that with planted courtyards that aid in natural cooling and a house in Mexico that slopes down a hill and embraces the many oak trees around it, these modern homes are bringing nature in like never before.
Photo: Edmund Sumner1/7Casa Los Cubos (Monterrey, Mexico)
Designed by Monterrey based firm, P+0 Architectura, this single-family home is located on sloped plot of land full of oaks, mesquites, anacuas, and other trees. To preserve the vegetation, the residence was crafted as a series of rectangular prisms, envisioned as “pavilions,” that intersect in various areas to provide as much living space as possible. The main floor, which is the uppermost level, encompasses the kitchen, living, and dining room. The bedrooms are on the lower level and are placed around a central courtyard, from which a live tree grows.
Photo: Casey Dunn2/7The Constant Springs Residence (Austin, Texas)
Completed in 2017, a live oak tree reaches through an opening in the ceiling in this Austin home designed by Alterstudio Architecture. The rough quality of the trunk’s bark contrasts with the smooth Cedar wood used for the ceiling and Ipe along the deck. The sinuous window wall offers maximum indoor-outdoor connection.
Photo: Tim Van de velde3/7Kartasan (Ghent, Belgium)
The interiors of this this Belgium home were in poor condition when Atelier Vens Vanbelle was brought in to breathe new life into the space. After deciding to only retain the façade and remake the indoor, the team opted for a large oak tree trunk as structural support for the interiors. New floors were then added and engineered to “float” between the existing exterior walls and the trunk. “The tree was a logical and affordable solution, and it immediately gave the right atmosphere to the new home,” the firm explained in a statement.
James McDonald4/7Bahao House (Lahore, Pakistan)
Pass through the brick-clad threshold of this bungalow in Lahore and your eye is instantly drawn outside, to a 40-feet-tall Fiddle Fig tree: It existed on site, exactly at the same location as it stands now, and the designers fell in love with it upon their first fact-finding visit. “We knew right then, that it would be the focal point of the house,” recall Fatima Salahuddin and Tobi Adamolekun, who collaborate under the moniker Omi-Pani, “and it became our North Star for the inside-outside concept of the design.”
Photo: Ema Peter5/7Vastu House (Dubai, UAE)
This Vastu-compliant home in the upscale Dubai Hills neighbourhood blurs indoor-outdoor boundaries, embracing its desert surroundings. Designed by Studio VDGA, it took inspiration from local architecture and Indian heritage: featuring self-shaded structures, creating a tranquil oasis. The central courtyard, anchored by an ancient olive tree, serves as a serene gathering place.
Photo: Courtesy of Otto Felix Studio6/7Sibipirunas House (São Paulo, Brazil)
Clean lines mix with the organic at Sibipirunas House in São Paulo designed by Otto Felix Studio. The open-floor home includes two trees growing through the property, which had previously existed at the site. The plaster ceiling welcomes an abundance of light, further integrating the residence with the natural world.
Photo: Marko Bradich7/7Casa Chinkara (Guatemala City, Guatemala)
Solis Colomer Arquitectos designed Casa Chinkara with the goal to blend the natural with the man-made, or the “primitive and the modern,” as explained in ArchDaily. The home was imagined as a rock on the ground and features a number of well-scaled volumes that mirror the landscape’s contours. In one room, a tree grows through the middle, while a large ceiling cutout floods the plant with light.
