As a child, Philipp was a great climber and excelled at great heights. Having grown up in an Auroville forest with role models who experimented with living in simple tree huts, he took this to the next level by making it his life purpose to build bigger and better houses in the most majestic trees worldwide. Along with part of today’s crew, Philipp spent his adolescent years experimenting with a variety of building materials, learning construction methods, and creating a community space for skills exchange at the Auroville Youth Centre. He then attended the youth held Climate COP in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which resulted in the initiation of the 500 TreeHouse Project. The project intends to spread the use of sustainable construction methods and influence a positive change in consciousness by living in the trees.
It took several years of experimentation and documentation to reach the ultimate structure to start off the project. During this time the first treehouse was built for commercial use at a renowned eco-resort and TreeHouse Community officially became a Unit under the Auroville Foundation. With a growing demand for sustainable housing solutions, we inaugurated a large workshop space in Auroville with large woodworking tools and model treehouses to welcome people who are interested in treehouses. This allows us to prepare the finest treehouse materials from sustainably sourced hard woods which can then be assembled throughout India. Still, we have completed treehouse projects in most continents of the world, where the largest trees call.
TreeHouse Community is committed to sustainable construction with ecologically sound principles governing our work. Our philosophy starts with the Tree. We first choose and identify appropriate trees to build on, studying and understanding each tree’s individual health, biology, growth patterns and the landscape it is a part of. Then comes the House, where we promote a harmonious coexistence with the environment using traditional methods of carpentry to build structures inspired by nature which are capable of blending in with the surrounding elements. Instead of commonly used implants, we opt for firmly anchored suspension cables to distribute the weight of the treehouse evenly onto the tree and padding at specially designated contact areas between the tree and the house. This acts as a protective barrier, safeguarding the tree from stress and friction and allowing the tree to grow in a natural way while providing a stable support structure for the house. Finally comes the Community, a time for celebration and enjoyment of the tree and the house, where it all comes together. At a higher level, we hope to integrate nature towards an evolution of man. Bulky primitive concrete buildings don’t give us the space we need to hasten the evolution of our consciousness as do treehouses and structures built of natural materials.
Having grown up amongst the forest of South India and living in a prototype treehouse, Philipp spends more time in the canopy than on the ground. Having built over 150 treehouses in India, South America, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world, Philipp is the founder and dedicated researcher of TreeHouse Community. He is always ready and searching for the next adventure – ‘work more and better’.
Yash is an avid climber and dedicated treehouse builder. Having experience on rock faces and high lines, he is now becoming familiar with all branches of arboriculture which allows him to scale up any tree. His involvement in some of the most challenging treehouse builds in recent years, makes him confident with most aspects of a complete treehouse build.
He has seen it all when it comes to building treehouses. Mahindra has come a long way and gathered a ton of valuable skills which he can now use to circumvent almost any new situation. His hunger for never ending education keeps him looking for ever more skills to acquire and improvements to make.
Ilango masters a disappearing craft of ecological construction that uses only materials which grow locally. We have taken this traditional ecological housing principles to the next level by combining it with modern treehouse building techniques. He also engages in sustainable forestry, wood processing and community building event management.
Manages the organization of numbers and communication. She is inspired by treehouse living as a way of being close to nature and living an environmentally sound life. This brings her to creating up cycled produce out of waste wooden materials from treehouse projects and wooden treehouse features.
Virya is a passionate gardener and also a national basketball champion. His hard working determined energy and hands on experience with tropical construction, natural resource management and improvised construction turns work to play. He excels at managing his many life tasks and brings great importance and focus to building treehouses.
A talented climber and engineer from the UK. Luke had been with us for several years developing his skills towards bio-construction, woodwork and tree work. With the experience he gained throughout the first years of working side by side with treehouse master Philipp, he has now ventured off to set up TreeHouse Community UK – TreetopCo. https://www.treetopco.co.uk
An experienced and professional climber from Berlin. He joins in on the most exciting treehouse projects while being dedicated to having fun at heights in the city and in its surrounding forests. He brings a lively whilst precise energy to the team.
The french architect on the team. Julie is always ready to design the next major treehouse with finding the balance between its stable foundation and intricate features. She strives towards sustainable designs and construction materials and incorporates these into her daily work while taking up new skills for treehouse building.
During the formative years of TreeHouse Community, Christian was and continues to be a naturally positive motivator always looking forward to the next adventure. He was part of the South Indian Cyclone Thane clean up crew in 2012 and is a fully certified industrial climber. Over the years he has become a master at building tiny houses on the ground and up in the trees.
A lush talent with the guitar, climbing, and moving people. Pedro’s passion for nature, travel, and people brings him to the farthest tributaries of the South American continent. Back home in Brazil, Pedro represents THC Brazil and joins the international crew on bespoke treehouse projects.
Roshan is our head researcher of culinary experimentation. He explores local and wild plants from our community creating edible celebrations of community and sustainability. He has been running the pilot phase of our Treetop Cafe.
