Bluebird Treehouse
A refined architectural take on the timeless children's retreat
Location Eagle Ridge, Calgary Status Completed
A Community Activator for Child’s Play
We sometimes forget about the limitless imaginative potential we once saw as kids in a wide open grassy space with a couple trees and a handful of friends. As kids, we see large grassy backyards as the opportunity for football, games of tag, water gun fights, picnics, or just laying down and watching the clouds go by. As adults, it is a space to maintain and look out on. The design and construction of a treehouse, however, may be able to rekindle the same magic and potential we once saw for these spaces.
The Bluebird Treehouse celebrates this aspect of the childhood imagination and uses a playful subversion of common architectural strategies to reinvigorate similar feelings of imagination for all ages. A simple client brief requested a sequence of play structures that appealed to children and adults. Classic playground programs, such as a slide and rope bridge, mix with more unique additions of a zipline and pulley lift to frame a space with boundless potential for impromptu play sessions between the clients’ children and their neighbourhood friends. Meanwhile, sculptural geometries mix with more refined details and connections to create an aesthetically pleasing, yet not over-austere, backyard bookend for adults with refined taste in design.
As a treehouse, the most important part of the project is encouraging movement and play. Various modalities and surface textures ensure that the long sequence of structures keeps its inhabitants engaged.
In addition to outdoor features, there is also a protected interior space complete with a skylight and cladding details to create an imaginative miniature home for children to use throughout the year.
“The best part about this backyard treehouse is that not only our children and the neighbourhood children love it, but I love it too”
- Client
Architecturally, a primary ethos behind the treehouse is sharp details and soft edges. Refined connections and architectural hardware contrast with filleted edges and playful tree cutouts to create something safe and fun, yet curated and delierate.
The Bluebird Treehouse incorporates the best elements of a treehouse, playground, and other children's built realms. A pulley lift and zipline accentuate the high-creativity and high-speed potential.
