the ultimate tree house

MIT plants seeds of a new kind of house
Carolyn Y. Johnson
Boston Globe, 9/26/06

Faced with global warming, a projected energy crunch, and suburban sprawl, a team of MIT researchers has envisioned a radical antidote: truly ``green" homes, nurtured from seedling to tree house.

The ``fab tree hab" is a fanciful orb of a home that is literally alive, with a frame of growing tree trunks grafted together, insulation made of clay and straw, and vines instead of vinyl siding. The heating, cooling, and plumbing would all mimic natural processes.
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MIT must have sponsored a field trip to Bonfante's Gardens to examine the Circus Trees. I hope the inspiration was properly cited. Perhaps the homes should be called "Erlandsons".




"This botanical adventure began in Hilmar, California in the 1920's when Axel Erlandson (in photo below at left), a farmer by trade, observed the natural grafting of two Sycamores. His first major project consisted of fusing four Sycamore saplings into a cupola that he named the "Four-Legged Giant." Using intricate grafting techniques, Erlandson wove his wonders with threads of living wood. Straight tree trunks became complex and compound designs in shapes like hearts, lightning bolts, basket weaves and rings."
~bonfantegardens.com