Five unusual structures you may see in giant trees

Some trees are so large that buildings can be built not from them but directly in or on them. And today, we will tell you about five of the most vivid and striking examples of wooden architecture, during the creation of which not a single tree was damaged.

1. Sunland Baobab, South Africa

Baobabs are not only the most giant trees in the world but also the oldest. They can live for several thousand years while reaching a truly huge trunk comparable to a private house. There is a similar baobab record holder in the South African town of Modjajiskloof in the Limpopo province. It is famous throughout the country not only for its age of six thousand years (!), But also for the fact that the Sunland Baobab Pub is located inside this tree. Of course, most of this establishment is located outdoors in the shade of branches, and inside there is a kitchen and a small hall for just a few visitors.

Protectors of nature should not clutch their hearts while reading these lines. No one specially gouged these rooms inside a living baobab. In the six thousand years of its existence, two large natural cavities have formed in the tree’s trunk, which the Sunland Baobab Pub uses for its purposes.

2. Chapel oak, France

It is located in the French village of Allouville-Bellefosse in Seine-Maritime, inside a giant old oak. There are two small chapels, one of which initially served as a hermit monk’s cell.

Researchers say that this oak itself appeared in the ninth century. And the initial mention of it dates back to the seventeenth century when the local abbot decided to experiment by placing forty local children inside the natural cavities formed due to the tree’s aging. Later, he ordered the formation of a chapel of the Virgin Mary in one of the vast hollows, and Father Du Cerceau settled in another as a hermit.

3. Timber Houses by Patrick Dougherty

American Patrick Dougherty works at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and gardening. He creates incredible buildings and individual figures from trees and bushes. And some of them are alive. It takes him many years to build the latter – after all, plants specially planted in the right place need to grow.

Of course, no one lives in these buildings! But parks and open-air museums, where objects by Patrick Dougherty are located, use them as landscape architecture – gazebos and pavilions for events.

4. The Bird’s Nest Hotel, Sweden

The Tree hotel has been in Sweden for several years now – one of the most unusual hotels globally, where each room is a uniquely shaped treehouse. And in 2014, this institution opened a new building – The Bird’s Nest.

This small building looks like a giant nest in the trees. To create this effect, the structure was covered with small branches, the presence of which was deliberately emphasized by the architects from Inredning Gruppen.

However, inside there is a relatively modern, albeit small, room for two guests. And you can climb into it using an applied ladder. Not very comfortable, but atmospheric.

5. Chandelier Tree, California, USA

In the vicinity of the California town of Leggett, there is a national park – and area where giant sequoias grow. And one of the attractions of this place is the so-called Chandelier Tree, which extends right in the middle of the road. However, it does not interfere with the passage of cars and the passage of people because a tunnel was broken inside this plant in the thirties of the 20th century.

The town of Legget and the adjacent settlements in the first half of the last century were the centers of timber mining. And this tunnel inside the redwoods was created by lumberjacks on the Avenue of the Giants Road, named after the enormous trees growing along with it. The plant, by the way, is still alive and is covered with new foliage every season.