Tree House

View of the main house from the stream.

Project details

• Project Name: Tree House
• Client: Leslie Sander
• Project Type: Single Family Residence
• Principal Designer/s: Sander Architects
• Design Team: Whitney Sander, Principal Architect; Catherine Holliss, Interiors
• Contractor/s: Gary Munch Construction
• Date of commencement of project: 2003
• Date of completion of project: 2005
• Location of site: Wilmington, Delaware, USA
• Site Area: .75 acre
• Built-up Area: 1500 sf
• Cost of Construction/Execution: $500000 (site work + bridge over stream)

At dusk the double height living room windows create a glowing light box.

Words from the Architect

The design and building of Tree House was a labor of love. Whitney Sander designed this house for his sister, her first house. The death of their father allowed her the funds to build it.

Tree House sits on a cul-de-sac at the end of a mature subdivision in Wilmington, DE, USA. It is filled with century-old deciduous trees, which form a magnificent canopy 150 feet above the site.

Designed by the architect, the stairs were fabricated in the client's own shop.

A stream runs around the house, and because of certain restrictions of the Army Corps of Engineers and because of the potential for flooding, the buildable area is quite small. This induced the firm to design a vertical house, with raised Living Room and Master Suite. These spaces give one the feeling of being in the trees.

The stairs inside were fabricated at the performance stage shop where the architect's sister works. They are made of 1/2" aluminum plate, with two treads in each unit.

Double height windows capture the forest surrounding the house.

Shades of purple set the color scheme: dark aubergine curtains, a grey-purple stone for the wall that encloses the fireplace and media storage.

Horizontal windows encircle the house, providing select views into the landscape. In contrast to these small views, a great wrapping window in the double-height Living Room provides a dominant diagonal focus for the house, and leads views into the deep woods to the northeast.

A roof deck provides a view in all directions from a height of 35 feet in the air.

Credits

• Text: Catherine Holliss
• Photographs: Sharon Risedorph