— I read that the idea of the Treehotel was born on a fly fishing trip to Russia.
Kent: “That’s correct, but it started with a film that was made here in Harads village by a couple of guys from Stockholm. The idea was to make a documentary about finding their roots and connecting with their childhood. The name of the film was Tree Lover because they really liked to stay up in trees and tell stories about them. In this film they built a tree house, and after the film was finished it was left empty, so we asked them to rent it out to us. That’s where I got the idea from.
Then, three years ago I took that idea with me on a fishing trip to Russia. There were three architects on this trip and when we sat around the campfire with a glass of vodka I presented the idea for the Treehotel to them. I asked them if they were interested to come to the forest with us and of course they loved the idea.
They came up, looked at the forest and said, “This is my tree!” and there was a big fight to find the best place for their tree house.”
The Treehotel resort is located in the tall pine forest with spectacular views of the Lule River. All of the rooms are suspended approximately 4-6 meters (13-20 feet) above the ground with wonderful views of the Lule River, and are accessible by ramp, bridge, or electric stairs.
— Do you have a favorite tree house?
Kent: “No, they are all so different. It depends on your mood. If you want to be free and alone, you stay in the Bird’s Nest because nobody can reach you up there. You can pull up the stairs with a remote control and you are free like a bird. It’s only got a small window but it’s great do some deep thinking. The Blue Cone has the biggest window with the best views and it’s the only one overlooking the river.
The Cabin is perfect for a couple, for a honeymoon maybe. It has a really nice, big bed in the centre of the room where you can see nature outside from your pillow. It’s the biggest tree house with 24 square meters and has a big open terrace on the roof.
Of course the Mirrorcube is very unique. We told the architect that he must make something that can work with nature. He had the opposite view that nature must reflect in our buildings. The Mirrorcube fits everywhere, because wherever you put it in the forest, it’s just the reflection of its surroundings, a reflection of nature.”