Finished Fale

During construction we felt like kids building a tree-house, so we drew on that inspiration to further our design. The tree had a simple wooden ladder like tree-hut's do, to help with access & even though we could probably have got up the tree without it, it made it easier & also more inviting for people to enter our Fale. We also hung a tire-swing from the tree which helped create the fun atmosphere of a tree-house.

The "raft" up the tree was anchored to the ground by bamboo poles which extended up to create the shelter for it.

When thinking about what it was going to be like to sleep in, we decided we needed bug protection! So we placed the citronella burners that you'd use in a garden around the tree - making it look like a "Survivor" elimination night!

Our Fale withstood the Auckland Earthquakes and was so inviting a homeless guy took up residence in one of the hammocks for awhile!

Further Developments

To further our Fale design we have expanded on our nautical theme and explored the idea of our “boat deck” being transformed into a raft with found materials – wood, palm leaves, bits of plastic and weed-matting – things that you might find washed up on the beach if you were stuck on an island and needing to create a raft.
We are also investigating a pulley system which came about from thinking about the rigging and sales on a yacht. This would enable us to put our things in a bucket/basket on the ground and pull it up the tree instead of struggling with carrying things up through the branches.

Fairy-Lucky's Concept

Taking into consideration the natural surroundings of our site, we have interpreted them in a nautical way. Our initial repsonse was that it would be very noisy to sleep in our Fale due to the sound from the motorway over the fence. After considering this we realised the traffic noise comes in waves and that our Fale could have a nautical theme that incorporated the traffic noise.
We are creating a platform in the tree's branches which references a boats deck, on which we can sleep. It also provides shelter to hammocks that we are creating under the "deck" for more sleeping area. The hammocks create a sleeping area elevated off the ground which provides movement as you would experience if you were sleeping in the cabins below the "deck" in a boat.