University of Westminster graduate Matthew Chamberlain has designed a sustainable treehouse to provide starter homes on London’s streets, while also tackling the city’s high pollution levels.
The Street Tree Pods are teardrop-shaped structures made from wood, designed to merge with existing or new trees.
Taking up the same amount of space as a single car-parking bay, each structure would offer short-term accommodation to a single occupant. Chamberlain sees them being occupied by students, young professionals and first-time buyers, or to people who are homeless or in the process of being rehoused.
威斯敏斯特大學的畢業生Matthew Chamberlain設計了一座可持續發展的樹屋，在倫敦的街道上提供入門住宅，同時也解決了該市的高污染水平。
街樹莢是由木材製成的淚珠形結構，旨在與現有或新樹融合。
佔用與單個停車位相同的空間，每個結構將為單個乘客提供短期住宿。 張伯倫認為他們被學生，年輕專業人士和首次購買者，或無家可歸或正在獲得安置的人所佔用。
The Street Tree Pods are are designed to merge with existing or new trees｜Street Tree Pods旨在與現有樹木或新樹木融合
“Street Tree Pods seeks to offer a fresh insight into urbanisation and community living within London, tackling and challenging both the current housing crisis and the growing pollution issues within the city,” explained Chamberlain.
“These self-sufficient, low impact urban tree pods merge the house and street tree together, facilitating humans innate attraction towards nature and natural processes, along with focusing on the importance of wellness and sustainable architecture.”
張伯倫解釋說：“Street Tree Pods旨在提供對倫敦城市化和社區生活的全新洞察，解決當前住房危機和城市內日益嚴重的污染問題。”
“這些自給自足，低影響的城市樹莢將房屋和街道樹木融合在一起，促進人類對自然和自然過程的天生吸引力，同時關注健康和可持續建築的重要性。”
Each one takes up the same amount of space as a car parking bay｜每個人佔用的空間與停車位相同
The curved wooden form of the design is intended to reference inosculation – the natural phenomenon where the branches, trunks and roots of two trees grow and merge together.
Cedar shingles would give the buildings a natural, textured cladding, while wooden bird boxes would be installed on top, set amongst the tree branches.
Chamberlain, who completed the project as part of his MA in architecture at University of Westminster, believes the project can help people to realise that trees are “a vital piece of infrastructure for a city”.
設計的彎曲木質形式旨在參考融合 – 兩棵樹的樹枝，樹乾和樹根生長並融合在一起的自然現象。
雪松木瓦將為建築物提供自然的紋理覆層，而木製鳥箱將安裝在頂部，設置在樹枝之間。
張伯倫作為威斯敏斯特大學建築學碩士的一部分完成了該項目，他認為該項目可以幫助人們認識到樹木是“城市基礎設施的重要組成部分”。
The design mimics the natural phenomenon where tree branches and trunks merge together｜該設計模仿了樹枝和樹幹融合在一起的自然現象
He claims the project could increase both the density of greenery and housing in the UK capital, while also allowing residents to enjoy the psychological benefits of being surrounded by nature – often overlooked in urban environments.
“Trees have proved to decrease obesity, reduce certain health risks and aid mental behaviour and ultimately make people feel happier and more positive in their day to day lives,” he told Dezeen. “Too often, however, they are disregarded as a vital component of urban master planning infrastructure and healthcare.”
“This project is quietly arguing that more should be made to live among our natural landscape,” he continued.
“It is not enough to simply move it out of the way for our architectural interventions. Trees are imperative to the success, health and wellbeing of all people and only ever provide advantages to our quality and way of life.”
他聲稱該項目可以增加英國首都的綠化和住房密度，同時也讓居民享受被大自然包圍的心理好處 – 在城市環境中經常被忽視。
“樹木已被證明可以減少肥胖，降低某些健康風險並幫助精神行為，最終使人們在日常生活中感到更快樂和更積極，”他告訴Dezeen。 “然而，很多時候，它們被視為城市總體規劃基礎設施和醫療保健的重要組成部分。”
“這個項目正在悄悄地爭辯說，應該讓更多的生活在我們的自然景觀之中，”他繼續道。
“僅僅為了我們的建築干預而將它移開是不夠的。樹木對於所有人的成功，健康和福祉是必不可少的，並且只為我們的質量和生活方式提供優勢。”
Tree trunks would run through the core of each structure, providing structural stability and ensuring no weight is placed on the branches.
The trunks would be enclosed in an ETFE shell – a system that would allow water to reach the tree and run through to the ground – while a rubber gasket between them will allow the tree to expand whilst remaining sealed.
Outside, the leaves of the trees would be used as a natural shading device.
樹干將貫穿每個結構的核心，提供結構穩定性並確保樹枝上沒有重量。
樹干將被封裝在ETFE外殼中 – 一個允許水到達樹並通過地面的系統 – 而它們之間的橡膠墊圈將允許樹在保持密封的同時膨脹。
在外面，樹木的葉子將被用作自然遮陽設備。
To access the treehouses, each structure would incorporate a retractable ladder that could be operated from outside.
This would lead into each dwelling, where Chamberlain has designed four storeys. The lowest level is the plant room, which would contain the rainwater storage tanks, air source heat pump and bio digester.
Above, the second floor would house a kitchen and living space, with a small bathroom and balcony, while the third hosts a shower room, workspace and storage. Lastly, the top floor is the bedroom with roof light.
為了進入樹屋，每個結構都包含一個可伸縮的梯子，可以從外面操作。
這將導致每個住宅，張伯倫設計了四層樓。 最低級別是工廠房間，其中包含雨水儲存罐，空氣源熱泵和生物消化器。
在上面，二樓將設有一個廚房和起居空間，一個小浴室和陽台，而第三層設有一個淋浴室，工作區和存儲空間。 最後，頂層是帶屋頂燈的臥室。
A raised cycling highway could connect the pods through the city｜一條凸起的自行車高速公路可以將吊艙連接穿過城市
Each pod also incorporates rainwater collection, natural air ventilation, and air-source heat pumps, helping them to function sustainably, while cycle storage and a car parking space sit below.
Chamberlain has also conceptualised a raised cycling highway that would connect each of the pods throughout the city. This would be accessible through doors positioned at the third level of each treehouse.
每個吊艙還包括雨水收集，自然通風和空氣源熱泵，幫助他們可持續運行，同時循環存儲和停車位位於下方。
張伯倫還概念化了一條凸起的自行車高速公路，該高速公路將連接整個城市的每個吊艙。 這可以通過位於每個樹屋三層的門進入。
A Street Tree Pod app would work as a real-estate portal｜Street Tree Pod應用程序可用作房地產門戶網站
Additionally, a Street Tree Pod app would work as a real-estate portal for the dwellings.
“The Street Tree Pod app was designed as a vision for how the project would develop in the future,” said Chamberlain. “The home screen of the app displays all the various types of street tree pods available, along with the relevant information that define it such as number of bedrooms and type of tree.”
While Chamberlain designed the Street Tree Pods concept for the London Plane Tree, he has also developed a parametric algorithm that would enable it to be extended for use by different trees of varying shapes and sizes.
Other designers to have responded to London’s housing crisis include Royal College of Art architecture graduate Llywelyn James, who proposed a series of elevated residential blocks for a brownfield site, and Opposite Office, which reimagined Buckingham Palace as a co-living space for 50,000 people.
此外，Street Tree Pod應用程序可用作住宅的房地產門戶。
“Street Tree Pod應用程序旨在展望未來項目的發展方式，”張伯倫說。 “該應用程序的主屏幕顯示所有可用的街道樹莢，以及定義它的相關信息，如臥室數量和樹木類型。”
雖然張伯倫為倫敦梧桐樹設計了街樹莢概念，但他還開發了一種參數算法，可以將其擴展用於不同形狀和大小的不同樹木。
其他響應倫敦住房危機的設計師包括皇家藝術學院建築系畢業生Llywelyn James，他為棕色地塊提供了一系列高架住宅區，以及對面辦公室，將白金漢宮重新設想為可容納5萬人的共同生活空間。
