Matthew Chamberlain proposes Street Tree Pods to alleviate London's housing crisis

由专筑网邵红佳，李韧编译

威斯敏斯特大学的毕业生Matthew Chamberlain设计了一座可持续树屋，这是伦敦街道的简易房，能够应对伦敦的高度污染现状。

街道树屋由木制泪珠状结构建造而成，与街道树木结合在一起。

树屋只占用单个停车位所需的空间，为住户提供短期住宿。Chamberlain认为树屋面向的群体为学生、年轻专业人士和初次购房者，以及无家可归或需要安置的人员。

University of Westminster graduate Matthew Chamberlain has designed a sustainable treehouse to provide starter homes on London's streets, while also tackling the city's high pollution levels.
The Street Tree Pods are teardrop-shaped structures made from wood, designed to merge with existing or new trees.
Taking up the same amount of space as a single car-parking bay, each structure would offer short-term accommodation to a single occupant. Chamberlain sees them being occupied by students, young professionals and first-time buyers, or to people who are homeless or in the process of being rehoused.


街道树屋与行道树结合在一起／The Street Tree Pods are are designed to merge with existing or new trees

Chamberlain说：“街道树屋旨在为伦敦的城市化和社区生活提供新视角，解决和挑战当前的住房危机和城市日益严重的污染问题。”

“这些自给自足、低影响的城市树屋将房屋和行道树融合在一起，将人类与自然结合起来，同时注重健康和可持续发展。”

"Street Tree Pods seeks to offer a fresh insight into urbanisation and community living within London, tackling and challenging both the current housing crisis and the growing pollution issues within the city," explained Chamberlain.
"These self-sufficient, low impact urban tree pods merge the house and street tree together, facilitating humans innate attraction towards nature and natural processes, along with focusing on the importance of wellness and sustainable architecture."


每座建筑占用的空间与停车位相同／Each one takes up the same amount of space as a car parking bay

设计中弯曲的树木参考了树木生长的自然现象，其中两棵树的枝干和根逐步生长并融合在一起。

雪松木瓦将给建筑带来自然的纹理，而木制的鸟巢将安装在顶部的树枝之间。

Chamberlain完成了这个项目，这也是威斯敏斯特大学建筑硕士学位的研究内容，他相信这个项目可以帮助人们认识到，树木是“城市基础设施的重要组成部分”。

The curved wooden form of the design is intended to reference inosculation – the natural phenomenon where the branches, trunks and roots of two trees grow and merge together.
Cedar shingles would give the buildings a natural, textured cladding, while wooden bird boxes would be installed on top, set amongst the tree branches.
Chamberlain, who completed the project as part of his MA in architecture at University of Westminster, believes the project can help people to realise that trees are "a vital piece of infrastructure for a city".


这种设计模仿了树枝和树干融合在一起的自然现象／The design mimics the natural phenomenon where tree branches and trunks merge together

他声称，该项目可以增加伦敦的绿化和住房密度，同时对居民的心理健康有很大的好处，而这在城市环境的设计中常常被忽视。

“事实证明，树木可以降低肥胖率，降低健康风险，让人精神愉悦，最终使人们在日常生活中感到快乐和积极。”他告诉记者，“然而，作为城市总体规划基础设施和医疗保健的重要组成部分，它们往往被忽视。”

他继续说：“这个项目在安静地表达抗议，应该让更多的人生活在自然景观中。”

“我们不能将建筑与树木隔绝开，树木对于所有人的成功、健康和福祉都是必不可少的，树木能够提高我们的生活质量，改善我们的生活方式。”

He claims the project could increase both the density of greenery and housing in the UK capital, while also allowing residents to enjoy the psychological benefits of being surrounded by nature – often overlooked in urban environments.
"Trees have proved to decrease obesity, reduce certain health risks and aid mental behaviour and ultimately make people feel happier and more positive in their day to day lives," he told Dezeen. "Too often, however, they are disregarded as a vital component of urban master planning infrastructure and healthcare."
"This project is quietly arguing that more should be made to live among our natural landscape," he continued.
"It is not enough to simply move it out of the way for our architectural interventions. Trees are imperative to the success, health and wellbeing of all people and only ever provide advantages to our quality and way of life."



树干穿过每一个结构的核心，使得树枝不承担重量，确保结构稳定性。

树干封闭在ETFE外壳中，这使得水可以从树上流向地面，而它们之间的橡胶垫圈并不干扰树枝的生长，同时保持密封性。

在室外，树木的叶子可以当作一种自然的遮光装置。

每一座建筑都有一个可伸缩的梯子，使用者可以从外部经过梯子进入树屋。

梯子可以到达每一层，Chamberlain设计了四层，最底层为机房，包括雨水储槽、空气源热泵和生物消化池等功能。

二层有厨房、生活空间、小浴室和阳台，而三层有淋浴间、工作区和储藏室，顶层是带顶灯的卧室。

Tree trunks would run through the core of each structure, providing structural stability and ensuring no weight is placed on the branches.
The trunks would be enclosed in an ETFE shell – a system that would allow water to reach the tree and run through to the ground – while a rubber gasket between them will allow the tree to expand whilst remaining sealed.
Outside, the leaves of the trees would be used as a natural shading device.
To access the treehouses, each structure would incorporate a retractable ladder that could be operated from outside.
This would lead into each dwelling, where Chamberlain has designed four storeys. The lowest level is the plant room, which would contain the rainwater storage tanks, air source heat pump and bio digester.
Above, the second floor would house a kitchen and living space, with a small bathroom and balcony, while the third hosts a shower room, workspace and storage. Lastly, the top floor is the bedroom with roof light.


一条抬高的骑行道连接着整座城市的树屋／A raised cycling highway could connect the pods through the city

每座建筑还包括雨水收集、自然通风和空气源热泵体系，促进建筑的可持续性，循环储存系统和停车位则位于下方。

Chamberlain还构想了一条高架骑行道，将连接整座城市的每座树屋。使用者可通过位于每座树屋第三层的门而进入骑行道。

Each pod also incorporates rainwater collection, natural air ventilation, and air-source heat pumps, helping them to function sustainably, while cycle storage and a car parking space sit below.
Chamberlain has also conceptualised a raised cycling highway that would connect each of the pods throughout the city. This would be accessible through doors positioned at the third level of each treehouse.



此外，街道树屋应用程序可以用作住宅的房地产网站。

Chamberlain说：“街道树屋应用程序的设计可以预测该项目未来的发展方向。应用程序的首页显示了所有可用的树屋类型，以及相关信息，如卧室数量和树类型。”

当Chamberlain为伦敦设计街道树屋的概念时，他还开发了一种参数化算法，使其能够应用在不同形状和大小的树上。

其他应对伦敦住房危机的设计师还包括皇家建筑艺术学院的毕业生Llywelyn James，这位设计师在一处棕色地块上设计了一系列高层住宅区，另外还有Opposite工作室，设计师将白金汉宫进行了重新构思，希望将其改造为可容纳5万人的共同生活空间。

Additionally, a Street Tree Pod app would work as a real-estate portal for the dwellings.
"The Street Tree Pod app was designed as a vision for how the project would develop in the future," said Chamberlain. "The home screen of the app displays all the various types of street tree pods available, along with the relevant information that define it such as number of bedrooms and type of tree."
While Chamberlain designed the Street Tree Pods concept for the London Plane Tree, he has also developed a parametric algorithm that would enable it to be extended for use by different trees of varying shapes and sizes.
Other designers to have responded to London's housing crisis include Royal College of Art architecture graduate Llywelyn James, who proposed a series of elevated residential blocks for a brownfield site, and Opposite Office, which reimagined Buckingham Palace as a co-living space for 50,000 people.