Geo-Mania!

Ecology Center Greenhouse: Finish

With over 17 large interior shelving units, 15' feet of interior vertical height and double entry this finished greenhouse will be a great home for the San Juan Ecology Centers new "Food Lab" program. This program will educate schools groups and other visitors to the Center about how to grown their own food.

GEO Greehouse for The Ecology Center

Our latest GEO project, a fabulous geodesic greenhouse for The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

O2 Treehouse was honored to have the opportunity to build a GEO for The Ecology Center, a new eco-education center that "seeks to bring all members of the community together in a solutions-based educational setting to create a healthy and abundant future for all of Orange County." The Ecology Center provides resources, programs, and events for kids and adults alike to learn how to create a healthy planet. (Become a member here today!)

Many thanks to Evan Marks and the whole Ecology Center crew for helping make it a fun and successful build!

Phase 1, erecting the frame...

Phase 2, securing the canopy...

Phase 3, fun with canopy shadow puppets :)

Voila, magnifique!

Design Feature: Playa Del Carman Eco Village Designs

Original Treehouse Design Requirements:

• 3-4 treehouse each must accommodate 2-4 people
  
• Simple bed table to store books clothing etc.
  
• Sitting area
  
• Clear area around the tree for storage of travelers things
  
• Ground bathrooms
  
• Treehouse viewing platform to view birds and other tropical wonders
  
• Stair case access to the treehouses
  

The preliminary designs for the Playa Del Carman treehouses use the classic O2 Treehouse geodesic sphere style but raise it to a new level with its double sphere outer frame which functions on several different levels.  These include:

• Structural support of wrap around outer porch
  
• Support of palapa armature (palm frond roofing style)
  
• Outer sun shield with rotatable flaps which will help channel upper canopy breezes and aleviate the extreme humidity and heat of the jungle environment
  
• Double ceiling to help insulate structure from extreme mid day direct sun
• Provides entry way for circular stairway
• Dynamic visual presence

We are still within the design phase of the structures but instals are slated for next summer. Check back in for continued design updates!

Boom Festival 2010

Bamboo DNA BOOM! Bamboo DNA created a performance and visual art space called "the Drop" for the BOOM Festival in Portugal this past summer. It was an epic build for everyone involved, utilizing a wide range of skillsets ranging from mud bioconstruction to shadesail rigging to custom stonework. 

I Dustin Feider, owner of O2 Treehouse and JP Chapman, lead builder from the O2 Treehouse team were there for three months as part of the bamboo DNA helping in the construction of two 160' diameter structures, the Drop and the Dance Temple. 

East House Urban Garden Brings high yield of organics!

This summers harvest at the East House Urban Garden has been a bountiful one.  A few of the abundant yields include tomatoes, kale, prickly cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, avocados, oranges, lemons, Persimmons, corn, bananas, basil and many others.  We have been enjoying salads and the like for many months now. Amazing to see the difference in the yard between the spring and now as we are approaching the fall. A tremendous feeling of pride and gratitude I have after taking part in its development. 

So much food in such a small area. Everyone should have a garden like this. I plan on focusing more on designs of structures that help facilitate and beautify back yard gardens like this. 

Forbes: Asia

Forbes: Asia

The best part about this article were the comments left on the Forbes Facebook page following this question:

"Would you park a treehouse in your backyard?"

Here are some of my favorite responses:

"I've always wanted one! I'll be 60 this year and have a knitting group of 10 to 15 ladies who meet once a week. I envision it being a place we could go to knit and chat and just have a good time."

"NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I would much rather have forest in my "back yard" as I live in my tree house, instead of lokking at the tree house in my back yard from the laundry room or my home."

After a reader posted, to many kids not enough money... "Jacquie......how about start teaching those eight kids to do some construction work for fun!!! you might have your dream tree house almost for free, just need to pay for the material,...."

I strongly agree with this comment. Looking back at my own treehouse/clubhouse building roots a more character building route being that the kids get their hands dirty building a treehouse of their own design. On this topic O2 Treehouse is currently in the process of creating a treehouse design workshop for kids!

Updates...

Hello to all. Although the last couple months the headlines on the O2 Treehouse blog have been rather slow I want to inform you that it is not due to any lack of news worthy headlines, events or completed builds!

In an effort to keep the reader fully informed of the O2 Treehouse story many of the forthcoming posts will be blasts from the past! If yourwondering what is in store here are a few curiosities to peak your interest.

• Old gym floors and yoga
  
• The most awesome bamboo tensegrity back yard play structure ever, actually probably the only...
  
• Portugal, bamboo, treehouses and 8 days of crazy loud trance music
  
• 100 eco huts strong, What will the future hold?...
  
• Add to your O2 Treehouse vocabulary the Term "TreePee"
  
• The Orange Pod that is not Orange + all salvaged material!
  
• A telephone pole, Santa Monica Building and Safety, and plutonic objects
  
• Give me some of that good old Texas *&^% Geodesics!!
  
• Lightning In a Bottle, Red Lighting, and more bamboo
  
• The Isreal Project soon to come?
  
• Lunar Lander, Electric Daisy, Ground Geo, or the Prophesied Vibe Tribe Activation Station?
  
• Popular Mechanics:http://www.popularmechanics.com/archive/home/how-to-plans/sheds/0/10
  
• Air France back for more...
  
• Design Feature: Mulholand I love you
  
• The long awaited all bamboo treehouse!!: Designs, schedule, build potential is in the air
  
• Design Feature: Palm fronds, and air foils Jungle feaver no more
  
• Design Feature: Climbing Gyms Unite
  
• Seriously People The Stealth
  
• Design Feature: Tesegrity Tree