Sweden's fanciful Treehotel is branching out with a new room. Perched atop the forest, the latest installment is covered in 350 bird boxes to increase the local bird population (and create an interesting alarm clock for guests).
It's the eighth room at the unconventional hotel, where accommodation ranges from spaceship-style suites to Lego-like structures and glass cubes.
Set just outside the village of Harads in Swedish Lappland, an hour's drive from Luleå airport, the Treehotel has become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Sweden since its inception in 2010. Working alongside designers and architects, couple and co-owners Kent and Britta Lindvall have created otherworldly rooms that are far from your average lodgings. I mean, have you ever stayed in a 'UFO' hovering among the trees? No? How about a 'floating' cabin or a gigantic treetop bird's nest?
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The newest room, called Biosphere, is as fantastically-themed as the others. Created by Danish architects the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), who partnered with local bird experts on the design, the space caters to both humans and birds.
Suspended above the ground in the forest, the Biosphere is clad in natural materials and a facade of 350 bird boxes that vary in sizes to cater to all shapes and sizes such as tiny chickadees and Lapland bunting to the ever-so slightly heftier jackdaws.
"By designing a treetop hotel room with a facade of bird nests, the aim of Biosphere is to decrease the downward spiral of the bird population in the Swedish woods and instead strengthen the biosphere and natural habitat," said BIG. "Guests are provided the opportunity to experience birdlife in close proximity, finding themselves in the epicenter of nature."
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The room is accessed via a bridge that connects the forest floor to the treetop entrance. It's a small space (about 34m2) and is designed in such a way that light can enter from all angles to maintain the outside views with triple-glazed, full-height windows, as well as glazed ceilings and floors. Visitors also have access to a wraparound rooftop terrace that offers 360 views of the forest.
Swedish ornithologist Ulf Öhman, who worked on the project, said he hopes that Treehotel’s initiative may inspire people to install their own bird boxes to help their local bird populations, many of which are declining due to climate change and deforestation.
The Biosphere is slated to open for May. Prices for two guests, with breakfast included, costs 12,000 SEK (about $1,200).
For more information, see Treehotel Sweden.
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