Sometimes going to school can be downright awesome and inspirational. Such is the case with the treehouse study center in England. Samantha Sherwood, a third year architectural student from Oxford Brookes University, was the winner of a competition to design an arboreal concept for the New Forest Treehouse Study Center at Beaulieu, Hampshire. One of the key aims of the center was to provide a stimulating environment in which children from inner-city areas can get close to nature and experience the range of activities which the CET offers. The center opened in 2008.
The new learning center replaced two dilapidated classrooms that the center acquired second-hand. The Countryside Education Trust (CET) in England commissioned two classrooms-on-supports, giving ten thousand children a year the opportunity to experience rural life. With an eco-minded design, the treehouse project is a catalyst for environmental awareness.Twenty-two-year-old Samantha Sherwood worked closely with professionals to develop her plans.
Treehouse Study Center
The judges were seeking designs that provided good access for disabled people, while also being environmentally sustainable. Samantha’s design certainly rose to the challenge, featuring a grass roof, solar panels, large windows, underfloor heating fuelled by wood pellets and a light and wind tower – all several feet off the ground among the trees.
Treehouser's Blog 