Secret Whistler treehouse gets international attention
A tree house hidden on B.C.'s Whistler Mountain has captured the attention of design lovers around the world after nearly three years of going completely under the radar.
Joel Allen, a 31-year-old software designer turned carpenter, built the egg-shaped house, which he calls "the HemLoft," on a forested southern slope in 2009.
The two-storey structure is completely supported by a hemlock tree and includes a deck with a sliding glass door, a fully enclosed living space, and a roof lined with windows to let in light.
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It is, by anyone's standards, a magnificent dwelling - one that Allen felt was too good to keep a secret any longer.
At the urging of a friend, he submitted photos of the HemLoft to Dwell, the popular modern architecture magazine. The magazine featured it in their April Special Outdoor Edition. The house has become a subject of fascination for many.
"Coming out of the bush about the HemLoft is fun," Allen wrote on his website. "However it poses a few problems; if people know about it, they might try to find it. And if the wrong people find it, they may make me take it down."
Allen built the HemLoft on government-owned land without permission.
"Since the tree house was built on Crown land, I don't technically own it, and so its fate is uncertain," wrote Allen on his blog. "To the best of my knowledge, squatting on Whistler Mountain beneath some of Western Canada's most luxurious mega-homes would not be looked favourably upon."
Allen is currently looking for ways to expose HemLoft's location while keeping it safe from destruction.
Some of his suggested options include opening up the HemLoft to the public, turning it into a campsite or making it the subject of a geocaching hunt.
The Whistler community is increasingly in favour of keeping it right where it is, according to the Whistler Question, a local newspaper.
What's your take on the situation? Should the HemLoft be removed from the government-owned land, or protected as an architectural gem? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
