The 7th Room: Snøhetta’s Swedish Treehouse Is a Magical Retreat Within the Nordic Landscape

Sydney Franklin Sydney Franklin

Six years ago, the design world was enamored with the Mirrorcube, just one of then-five cabins available for rent at the Treehotel in Harads, Northern Sweden. Today, the hotel introduced Norwegian firm Snøhetta’s take on a proper Nordic treehouse with the addition of the 7th Room.

The new cabin hovers 33 feet above the forest floor within the pine tree canopy. At 592 square feet, the structure is a cozy getaway for guests looking to spend a few nights hunting the aurora borealis from the comfort of their living room or simply gazing over the Lapland treetops and Lule River.

The design features large windows, a netted terrace suspended above the ground and a tree that stretches up through the net. These characteristics blur the line between indoor and outdoor space, allowing guests to feel fully immersed in nature throughout their stay.

Twelve thin columns support the cabin and lessen the load on the attached trees while simultaneously giving it an airy feeling of weightlessness. In addition, an aluminum sheet printed with images of trees reaching up to the sky covers the bottom of the cabin, furthering the illusion of transparency. The camouflaged structure nearly gets lost in nature.

From the outside, the cabin evokes traditional Nordic design, sporting a dark façade clad with pine boards. The two-story interior is a stark contrast with bright birch plywood walls, ash wood floors and minimalistic Nordic design.

The cabin can house up to five people and contains two bedrooms, a lounge area and a bathroom. Guests use a staircase to enter the cabin, while a small lift transports their luggage. In total, 24 “treerooms” are planned for the Treehotel. The 7th Room, so aptly named, is the seventh structure to be built.

All images courtesy of Snøhetta

Read more articles by Sydney

The Top 5 Architectural Conspiracies

The narratives about these buildings lead to amateur investigation, site worship and a culture of di strust in the powers that be.

© Perkins&Will

Extinct Exhibitions: 8 Monumental Museums of Natural History

Between dinosaur skeletons, fragile fossils and precious stones, these museums of natural history an d science are built to house some of the oldest objects on earth.

+