The Tree Snake Houses of Pedras Salgadas Park

 

Designed by Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade, Tree Snake Houses was recently awarded the Hospitality Architecture – Building of the Year award by ArchDaily.

The Tree Snake Houses are two hotel suites at the Pedras Salgadas Spa & Nature Park resort in northern Portugal (about 70 minutes from Porto). The park is situated on 20 hectares of land with 8 km of walking paths. In addition to the tree snake houses there are also seven Eco Houses for accommodation.

Regarding the Tree Snake Houses design:

The tree houses arose from the challenge of creating an element that could fulfil the imaginary image of tree houses. The idea was to create an object moves away from orthogonality and pre-established concepts associated with construction. This house, developed in partnership with the company Modular System, uses a technology already tested on prototypes that enables a lightweight, self-supporting construction.
 
Coverings in slate and wood, indigenous raw materials, help foster integration with the landscape and render these architectural houses invisible, thus maintaining focus on this one-hundred-year-old park. Inside, the tree houses have two windows, one through which the life of the park may be observed, and another to look at the stars, a bathroom divided into 2 parts, a kitchenette, a double bed and a sofa.
 
Sustainability and ecology were constantly present in the development of this project: the non-impervious floor surfaces, reinforced coatings and insulation, the reuse of blackwater, the very low consumption lighting systems using LED technology, among other solutions found, give the initiative coherence and a raison d’être. [source]

 

For more information please visit

– ArchDaily: Tree Snake Houses / Luís Rebelo de Andrade + Tiago Rebelo de Andrade
– Architects: Luís Rebelo de Andrade, Tiago Rebelo de Andrade
– Photography by Ricardo Oliveira Alves
– Pedras Salgadas Spa & Nature Park
– ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards 2014