The treehouse by architecture firm Jackson Clements Burrows is sited in the bush fringe of Separation Creek perched on a steep forested hillside above the Great Ocean Road and Bass Strait in Victoria, Australia. It is a site that enjoys a unique combination of bush environment with intimate views of Separation Creek, the beach and the Wye River Peninsula to beyond. The steepness of the site, landscape controls and landslip potential resulted in a limited building envelope to work within. These constraints led the architects to explore a sensitive yet sculptural response that minimized footprint by echoing in form a tree with branches, with rooms branching and cantilevering in all directions of a central trunk to take advantage of views, access and aspect.

The three bedroom residence features 2,368 square feet (220 square meters) of living space. Upper level projections include an entry branch with study, a sunroom to the west, and a living area and deck cantilevering some 6m meters from the core overlooking the ocean and beach below. At a half level lower, the master bedroom wing springs from the stair landing into the bush to the east. A dining room and kitchen make up the upper level core of the building, whilst two further bedrooms, bathroom and laundry complete the lower level accommodation.

The treehouse draws inspiration from the modest local vernacular of 1950’s painted fibro shacks. The cement sheet panels used on the treehouse are painted in 2 tons of green that help merge the building with the vegetation on the hillside in which it sits and reinforce its relationship with the landscape. The vertical timber battens on the building are a naturally stained timber, which will silver over time like the branches and trunks of trees within the bush. Via

Visit the website of architecture firm Jackson Clements Burrows here.

Photos: John Gollings