Everyone who is bored of city life and the pandemic prefers nature as an escape point. Spending time in the forests to take a break and breathe is a great choice for all of us. Therefore, forest house design is one of the current issues in architecture in recent years. Forest houses as dreams of most people are truly wonderful buildings when their dialogue with nature and architectural approach are well designed. This article focuses on forest house design, we will see inspiring examples of forest house and look at the design of them in appropriate styles and scales. In addition, the article includes the issues to be considered before designing a forest house.
We can see examples of forest houses with different materials and architectural approaches in different geographies. Forrest house designs are found around the world, from North America to Australia. The most important design input in forest houses, where designs vary according to material, architectural style and climatic conditions, is the strong dialogue with nature.
The first thing to consider in the forest house design is that the foundation of the building is built solidly in the forest. The positioning of a forest house with a solid foundation can be designed according to the landscape. Forest houses should always have designs that are in harmony with their surroundings in their relationship with nature and that make the best use of the landscape indoors and outdoors.
Wooden Houses in Woodland!
Forest houses include buildings that belong to nature, not city architecture. They should be architectural spaces designed as a part of nature. The most important decision of these houses, which have a strong and simple relationship with nature, should be the material and construction technology. Lighting, installation and construction technologies that will cause the least damage to nature and have high energy efficiency should be preferred. In addition, choosing organic materials such as wood and natural stone is very good for forest houses. All over the world, you can use wood from local timber suitable for climatic conditions as a building material. With the sincere effect of wood and the unique atmosphere of the forest, the idea of wooden house will be a very good choice especially for families.
Farnsworth House: An Iconic Forest House Example
Farnsworth House, the iconic building of Mies Van der Rohe, one of the most important representatives of modern architecture is the best example of a forest house. The context of this residence, which was designed as a weekend home for the doctor Edith Farnsworth in 1951, is similar to the lodges we have discussed in this article. One of the most interesting aspects of the house, which was built with transparent building elements, is how it lives in this space.
The Farnsworth House is the best representation of the perception of space that Mies Van der Rohe tried to capture in his buildings, which can be counted as a single “period” in 20th century architecture. The famous architect ensured the privacy of the famous house he built in the context of this forest by making use of the existing trees. The trees around it create privacy for the rooms of this iconic house with transparent walls and a lightly structured steel structure system.
Wooden cabins and bungalows come to mind when we think of a forest house. However, of course, we can take inspiration from the most important buildings of the 20th century, the Fansworth house, about forest houses!
This example shows us that modern architecture and even modern building materials can be built even in the forest with the right decisions. We can say that nature-friendly, ecological and simply designed houses are always inspiring for forest houses!
The Forest Cabin Design
Forest houses can be well designed with organic materials and a simple architecture by complying with the climatic conditions. However, in cases where there is no real need for a “house”, the forest house design can be designed as a cabin for touristic purposes or for short-term living.
These tiny and cute houses, which can be called “forest cabins”, are built from wood in the most practical way. These wooden cabins are effective spaces that were built in a short time and used for many years with many examples in the world. You can prefer to built these kind of houses in order to be in touch with nature and create your own compact spaces in the forest, over large-scale houses.
