American firm Modus Studio has used steel and heat-treated pine to build an "alive and mysterious" treehouse in Arkansas.
The Evans Tree House is located at Garvan Woodland Gardens, a 210-acre (85-hectare) botanical garden near the town of Hot Springs in central Arkansas. Owned by the University of Arkansas, the nature park occupies a wooded peninsula that is surrounded by the Quachita River.

The treehouse is situated within a children's garden that features native tree species, including oaks and pines. Designed by Fayetteville-based Modus Studio, the structure serves as an interactive, educational experience intended to "bring children back into the woods".
Dendrology ? the scientific study of trees ? influenced the building's programme and design. Featuring a sculptural profile, the treehouse is meant to be read as a dynamic form that changes shape as one moves around the site.
From certain vantage points, the asymmetrical structure appears to lean to one side.
"It is intended to camouflage itself into the landscape and be of the ecology of the place ? organic, yet alive and mysterious in nature, purposefully inspiring children's imaginations about the forest," said the studio in a project description.

Boomerang-shaped in plan, the building is lifted 13 to 25 feet (four to 7.6 metres) off the ground via six pairs of slender, steel columns.
By elevating the structure, the team was able to protect the earth below, while providing visit...