The 7th Room: Elevated Treehotel Cabin by Snøhetta

Set 10 metres above the ground in a Swedish alpine forest, the 7th Room is Snøhetta’s contribution to Treehotel. As you might expect it is the seventh elevated dwelling to be added and you can view the Treehotel’s other distinctive offerings here. The 7th Room accommodates up to five guests with a vast north-facing window for taking in the aurora borealis phenonemon.

Although the exterior of the 7th Room may appear to have mirror clad surfaces in these stationary pictures, the underside of the elevated structure is in fact decorated with a life-sized photograph of the alpine tree canopy that existed before the 7th Room was built. However, another remarkable Treehotel Cabin, The Mirrorcube, does feature mirror cladding.

With focus on the surrounding nature, the design features large windows, a netted terrace suspended above the forest floor, and a tree stretching up through the cabin. The boundaries between indoors and outdoors are blurred, making the cabin part of the forest.Snøhetta

The rest of the 7th Room’s exterior is clad in charred timber which although blackened, blends surprisingly well with the dense pine needle canopy. The structure is suspended by twelve columns which are dark in colour and with a diameter not dissimilar to the neighbouring tree trunks. In contrast, the interior features light ash wood flooring and plywood clad walls. The design in clean and typically nordic with lounge chairs, a modern fireplace and vast windows.

At the heart of the 7th Room’s U-shaped floor plan is a netted canopy on which brave guests can lay. I’m assuming this was intended for conditions warmer than when these pictures were taken. A lone pine tree pierces this courtyard, again to lessen the impact of the project on the existing tree line as much as possible.

We’ve featured several other groundbreaking projects by Snøhetta in the past on Homeli including the Åkrafjorden Hunting Lodge and the Tverrfjellhtta Wild Reindeer Pavilion.