Treehotel — Swedish Tree Houses Integrated in Nature

Stories,Travel,eco-travel

Treehotel — Swedish Tree Houses Integrated in Nature

Sweden

Abigail Shi August 16, 2021

How Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall created eight unique Swedish tree houses, interweaving design and sustainability.

Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall — a former guidance counselor and nurse, respectively — grew up in or around Harads, Sweden, a small village with gorgeous natural landscapes. After being inspired by the 2008 documentary “The Tree Lover” by Jonas Selberg Augustsén, the two, who had experience operating a small guesthouse in their home town, embarked on a journey to build their own treehouse. In 2010, Treehotel was created in the Harads, near the Arctic Circle in an area known as the “Swedish Lapland.” Britta has since retired but continues to co-own the hotel.

When creating Treehotel, Kent and Britta endeavored to integrate sustainability and the local community along every step of the way: energy, waste and suppliers and partners. Each room is unique and different, designed by prestigious Scandinavian architects with alternating styles and purposes. Thus far, Treehotel has worked with architects Bolle Tham, Martin Videgård, Bertil Harström, Mårten and Gustav Cyrén, Thomas Sandell, Rintala Eggertsson and architecture firm Snøhetta. From reflective mirror cubes to treehouses that mimic a bird’s nest, Treehotel can offer you a contemporary, mature and eco-friendly twist to a childhood dream.

Q & A with Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall

Mood of Living: What is your hometown?

Kent Lindvall: Harads.

Britta Jonsson-Lindvall: Bodträskfors (a small village l3 kilometers from Harads).

Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson-Lindvall, Mirror House

MoL: Where did you go to school and what did you study?

KL: I went to University to study to be a guidance counselor.

BJL: I went to Boden to study to be a nurse.

MoL: Before creating Treehotel, what did you do? What were your paths to get into the hospitality industry?

KL: I ran a travel company starting in 1994, arranging fishing trips worldwide for customers who like adventure travel and fly fishing.

BJL: I ran a hostel and funeral home and continuously looked for ways to develop our business.

Cabin

MoL: What inspired you to create Treehotel?

KL: The film “The Tree Lover.”

BJL: Also, the film “The Tree Lover,” a story about how people are connected to trees throughout history and different cultures.

MoL: What were the first steps in planning and developing your business?

KL: I made a pilot study, bought the land and filled out an application for the building permit.

BJL: I arranged financing and hired a local construction company.

Activities

MoL: How is Treehotel sustainable? What sets Treehotel apart from other environmentally friendly getaways?

KL: Treehotel is based on building with minimal impact on nature as part of the landscape. We have created some unique solutions to save water and use incineration toilets. The food is locally sourced, and we recycle most of the rubbish from the business. The hotel also uses 100% green electricity from hydropower. We are planning to switch this summer to 100% biodiesel for all transfers.

MoL: Who are the designers and architects you work with? Do these people take into consideration the natural landscape? Can you talk about the design process of creating your tree houses?

KL: We work with six different well-known Scandinavian architects. One of the main goals was respecting the natural landscape to a create modern and unique tree room.

Birdsnest

MoL: What activities do you provide for your guests at Treehotel? What are your favorite activities?

KL: Most are nature-based activities. See the list of activities HERE.

BJL: Popular activities are dog sledding, northern light tours and ice dining.

MoL: How does Treehotel interact with and respect its local community? Do the guests experience and learn from local culture? If so, how?

KL: Most of our guides and staff live in the local area and interact with our guests who learn about our Arctic lifestyle. For us, it is very important to support the local community in all ways.

BJL: We both have worked with local development in non-profit organizations in Harads for over 30 years, and we continue to do so. Recently, I created a new project to make Harads the world’s most sustainable, high-end destination. It is all about learning how to cooperate with suppliers and partners to make an eco-friendly and seamless experience for our guests.

Dragonfly

MoL: What do you hope guests take away from their stay at Treehotel?

KL: An authentic experience.

BJL: Happiness!

MoL: Do you have any projects that share the same eco-conscious mission as Treehotel? Do you plan to expand Treehotel or to add any new rooms in the future?

KL: Just recently, we launched new activities: bird watching, bird feeding and improving biological conditions for bird life. We plan to build a few more rooms in the future; the next one will be in itself a biosphere as a part of nature.

BJL: We are working on a project to add a fee for our guests to contribute to protecting the local forest. Nature-based tourism needs areas with untouched forests for guests to learn and experience.

UFO

MoL: What advice do you have for others interested in creating a sustainable travel destination?

KL: If you can, build on your local conditions in a sustainable manner from the ground up. Try to involve all your staff in the work. Collaborate with one of the eco-certifications available to systematize the work and follow up on your progress step by step.

BJL: Cooperate and involve the whole chain of suppliers in the sustainable destination.