The Man who Builds Houses in Trees
Takashi Kobayashi designs treehouses of diverse shapes, environmentally friendly and with a limited impact on their surroundings.

© Takashi Kobayashi
Takashi Kobayashi, founder of Japanese company TreeHouse Creations, is fascinated by the vitality and aura of trees. It was while admiring the beauty of a Himalayan cedar that he felt this spark, one that would never leave him and that would inspire him to build his first treehouse. This was in 1994, somewhere in a little street in Tokyo’s Harajuku district.
A sustainable and ecological habitat
Be it architecture, design, or assembly, Takashi Kobayashi learns on the job. Integrating a little house into a lofty environment is more complex than it seems: as well as taking the tree’s history into account, it is particularly important to plan for its future. Takashi Kobayashi takes around six months to build these huts nestled in greenery. The treehouses are made in different shapes, from the classic to the more original.
Takashi Kobayashi seeks to take a more ecological approach in his work, notably by raising awareness of the need to protect the environment. He gives classes in which he shares his experience as the ‘man of the woods’, while continuing, with TreeHouse Creations, to fulfil the treehouse dreams of eternal children.
Takashi Kobayashi’s creations can be found on TreeHouse Creations’ website and Instagram account.

© Takashi Kobayashi

© Takashi Kobayashi

©Takashi Kobayashi
TRENDING
-
The Tattoos that Marked the Criminals of the Edo Period
Traditional tattoos were strong signifiers; murderers had head tattoos, while theft might result in an arm tattoo.
-
Namio Harukawa, Master of Japanese SM Art
'Garden of Domina' offers a dive into the world of an icon of ‘oshiri’, whose work has now reached a global audience.
-
When a Father, Rural 1950s' Japan and Instagram Come Together
After unearthing Shoichi Kudo's photo archives, his daughter shared the images on social media and was met with unexpected success.
-
‘Yukio Mishima: The Death of a Man’
A few months prior to his ritual suicide, the author was depicted in macabre photographs taken by Kishin Shinoyama.
-
‘The Miracles of the Namiya General Store’, Fantasy Correspondence
In this novel by Keigo Higashino, three friends are led to modify reality through the medium of letters of whom they are the recipients.