Pure: Mother Nature

Organic. Do you spot this word EVERYWHERE you go? Now you have an option of buying ‘just’ eggs/vegetables/meat/etc. or ‘organic’ ones at your local supermarket, special organic shops on every corner does not surprise you anymore, you can get organic skincare or toothpaste or even your whole wardrobe might have 100% organic labels. But the term organic does not amount to nothing more than just food or cloths…

Organic architecture promotes harmony between people and nature – buildings can become a part of interrelated composition. Bet you heard of Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoni Gaudi or John Lautner – these famous artists ranked themselves among organic architects. In 21st century architecture that fits into the nature becomes more and more popular if not to say trendy. Lots of designers use nature as a basis for their design; they aim to mimic nature’s processes, so that their design fits the surroundings. After all, what is more pure than Mother Nature herself?

Probably, the most famous shape and form of fitting architecture into the landscape are various treehouses. They are eco-friendly and simply fun. Usually treehouses are built purely for leisure purposes. Ernest and Doris Needham created The Enchanted Forest in British Columbia, Canada, in 1950s. There are lots of attractions inside the Forest but the three-story treehouse that rises 50 feet into the forest canopy will just blew anybody’s mind away.

  The Enchanted Forest

However, sometimes treehouses may be built in order to live in them. If you ever wanted to actually experience living in a treehouse there are surprisingly lots of tree houses hotels allover the world! Swedish Threehotel has various options to choose from. For example, you can stay at The Bird’s nest house that does not look like a traditional treehouse at all. It can fit 4 people and gives its guests a camouflage so people quickly ‘disappear’ and become part of surroundings.

The Bird’s nest

UK’s Blue Forest, the luxury treehouse designers, have recently completed their ‘At the Water’s Edge’ project. It is a bespoke treehouse complex, complete with Kebony decking throughout. ‘At the Water’s Edge’ is a whole fairy tale inspired treehouse village, which will amaze kids and create a tranquil escape for parents. Each treehouse is designed individually.

At the Water’s Edge

Another way to fit a building into the nature is to locate it under the hills. Villa Vals is a house in Switzerland that was integrated into the landscape to avoid disturbing the nature. The only way to get into the building is through an underground tunnel, which runs straight through the mountainside.

Villa Vals

Grassy (turf) roofs are a good method to fit a modern building into surroundings. Turf roofs were invented in Scandinavian countries and until the late 19th century they were the most common ones. Rural Design Architects came up with Turf House, which is situated on the Isle of Skye, UK. It has been designed to minimize its overall visual impact; the house is located low in the landscape below a lovely turf roof.

  Turf House

Villa Topoject is located near Seoul, Korea, and it is perfect for those who enjoy rural life and observing nature while still communicating with the city. The house is extruded out of existing landscape, its every element bonds with environment.

Villa Topoject

Building houses on the rocks is quite popular nowadays as well. Rock Hall cottage is located in Staffordshire Moorlands. It used to be a natural cavern created by rock falls, which had formed the roof, sides and entrance. An old lady named Bess Bowyer lived there; there is an interesting and mysterious story about this house.

Rock Hall

A Casa do Penedo or The House of Stone can be found in Fafe, Portugal. It was built in 1974 but recently has gained a lot of attention (its current owner even had to move out). It might look rustic but it has all the amenities including a swimming pool.

The House of Stone

The Rock is a picturesque restaurant in Tanzania and it was simply build on the rock near Michanwi Pingwe beach in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is reachable by foot within low tide and by boat within high tide.

The Rock

It might be slightly harder to fit a house into the water landscape. 2by4 architects from The Netherlands, however, managed to do that. They build a tiny house on the Loosdrechtse lake that perfectly interacts with beautiful surroundings.

Recreational Island House

Organic architecture is not only beautiful, it is also good and kind to our planet. By using less materials and space organic designers contributes towards humanity’s future well-being. So, perhaps, seeing the ‘organic’ label on a lot of modern products isn’t that annoying after all?