Opposite Office builds treehouse office

German architecture studio Opposite Office has created a one-square-metre treehouse office, fixed to a tree at the Bauhaus University campus in Weimar. The studio, which was previously based in Munich, designed the compact structure named Baumhaus Office in response to high office rental prices.

Founder Benedikt Hartl told Dezeen the project is both a real office and a somewhat exaggerated response to the real estate market. "Instead of competing with Munich's rental prices, we moved the office out of the rental market altogether, and into the trees," he said.

Design and Construction

The cubic structure measures around one square metre and was designed to accommodate up to three architects. A ladder leads up to it, and inside are shelving, a desk, and fold-down panels that provide additional workspace. A domed skylight overhead gives views of the treetop foliage.

Hartl explained the motivation, stating Munich has become one of the most expensive cities in Germany to rent office space. "For a small architecture practice, paying a substantial amount every month simply to have a few square metres of desk space can feel slightly absurd," he said. The studio asked how much office is actually needed to run a practice. The answer, according to Hartl, is about one square metre - a laptop, a cutting mat as a modelling workspace, and a tree.

The office was made from standard spruce timber planks sourced from a hardware store, with plywood panels partially covered in aluminium. Two ratchet straps secure it to the tree, with a matting material added as padding to protect the bark. "The timber is deliberately ordinary - there is no exotic treehouse engineering hiding behind the project," Hartl noted. He said the aluminium cladding makes it waterproof and gives the small structure a slightly UFO-like appearance.

Installation and Future

"The entire office is held in place by two very large belts," Hartl continued. "No concrete foundation, no screws into the tree, no complicated anchoring system, just a very convincing embrace." He admitted the first days were a bit scary, but after a crowd load test under the surveillance of an engineer, the team felt safe.

Hartl gained permission from the president at Bauhaus University Weimar to use the tree for a limited time period. He said the office can be disassembled and reinstalled on another tree relatively easily. "If anyone has a spare tree, preferably with a good view and no rent, we would be very happy to hear from you," Hartl said.

The project joins other architectural commentaries on property prices. In Sweden, developer Riksbyggen and creative agency BBDO Nordics created three tiny flats designed to the square metres of housing a young person can afford. Other treehouse structures featured on Dezeen include a self-built, triangular home clad in polycarbonate panels and a portable treehouse that can be towed by a bicycle. For more on innovative architectural fixtures, see our dedicated page. The photography is courtesy of Opposite Office.