A new room will bring hundreds of bird houses to the renowned Treehotel in the small village of Harads, Swedish Lapland. Designed in close collaboration with Swedish ornithologist Ulf Öhman, it is suspended in the pines of Harads and seeks to enhance the surrounding biosphere.
The hotel room is titled Biosphere and is the latest addition to the hotel, which includes individually designed rooms from some of Scandinavia’s most renowned architects including Snöhetta, Rintala Eggerstsson and Tham & Videgård. Architect firm BIG was invited to design the eighth room by founders Kent and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall in 2020.
Biosphere amplifies Treehotel’s focus on sustainability and natural tourism, helping facilitate the conservation of the local bird population with a façade containing 270 bird nests. Through this, Treehotel aims to decrease the downward spiral of the bird population in the Swedish woods and instead strengthen the biosphere and natural habitat. Northern Sweden is known for its natural beauty, expansive forests and distinctive biosphere. Strong climatic contrasts through the seasons have required highly resilient buildings, incorporating the local materials of wood and stone. The Treehotel is known for its broad variety of cabins, with each having a distinct identity that responds and interacts differently with the surrounding forest.
Situated about 70 minutes drive from Luleå airport in northern Sweden, the 34-square-metre Biosphere is designed to attract wildlife and to fully immerse guests in the surrounding forest. It is accessed via a suspended bridge that slopes from the ground to the top of the trees. The room will be open for visitors in May.
Said BIG Founder & Creative Director, Bjarke Ingels. “I got to spend a few days and nights in some of the Treehotel’s rooms right before the pandemic, and left with a sense of rejuvenation from a complete immersion in nature. I couldn’t help wondering if there was a way to take the immersion one step further – and almost instantly the idea of inviting not only the human visitors but also the resident bird and bat population to cohabit a spherical swarm of nests came to life.”
“Inventories in Norrbotten County, carried out both by us as ornithologists and by the County Administrative Board, show that a number of different bird populations are decreasing. Forestry has led to a reduced number of natural holes in trees where breeding birds nest. The installation of bird nests is therefore an important measure to take. Furthermore, climate change leads to the insect boom happening earlier in the year, and by the time the birds’ eggs hatch, the boom has already passed. Feeding is an important support mechanism for the birds that stay in Northern Sweden and require food during winter. Demonstrating the use of bird nests and feeding, not just at the Treehotel but for people to install near their own homes, is valuable. An initiative from Treehotel to take such measures may inspire their visitors to do the same,” explains Ulf Öhman, chairman of the Norrbotten Ornithological Association.
Main image: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
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