Kent Lindvall is co-founder of the Treehotel, an award-winning tree house hotel situated in a boreal forest in Swedish Lapland.
What was the inspiration behind the concept for the Treehotel?
The inspiration was the movie The Tree Lover, a tale of three men from the city who rediscover their roots by building a treehouse together. It’s a philosophical story about the importance of trees for our people, historically and culturally. We ran a guesthouse called Brittas Pensionat and wanted to attract more guests, and then, on a fishing trip from Russia with three architects—Harström, Sandell and Cyren—we decided to create treehouses together.
What is special about the rooms?
Treehotel is a unique place. The experience is to stay close to nature, quietness and tranquillity and enjoy the exciting adventure.
And what is special about the surroundings?
Treehotel is in the forest, surrounded by beautiful scenery, the rooms have great views of the Luleå River, and during the long winter months there are a lot of activities available.
How do the rooms differ from each other?
Every room has a unique character that was specially created by a different architect. The difference between each room is integral to the overall Treehotel concept.
How does design influence your guests’ experience?
Design is a major reason that people travel here. Many of our guests are design enthusiasts and many guests return so they can experience a different room.
How did you choose which designers to commission?
Three of the architects were my fishing friends and on the advice of these friends we handpicked other architects to work with us.
Describe the Treehotel’s commitment to sustainability and the environment?
Treehotel is built on genuinely experiencing nature, so sustainability and ecological values are two pillars of our operation.
While we situated our hotel in the middle of nature, we wanted to do it on nature’s terms, so we chose material and construction techniques that makes as little environmental impact as possible. We use outdoor wood flooring which doesn’t contain any chemical substances, low-energy LED lighting, good insulation and electricity supplied locally from green hydroelectric power.
Daily operations have minimal impact on nature as well. Each room has an environmentally-friendly combustion toilet where everything is incinerated at 600 degrees; the Mirrorcube has a freezing toilet, which does the opposite. The toilets are completely odourless and powered by electricity.
The bathrooms have water-efficient sinks with running water sufficient for washing hands and face and brushing teeth. All wastewater is collected in a container that is emptied for reuse.
What should guests expect from a stay at the Treehotel?
Genuine hospitality, good food and a truly unique experience.
What does the future hold for the Treehotel?
We want to enhance the experience on all levels: more exciting culinary choice, more unique activities, a few more rooms created by world-famous architects. And we plan to expand the concept to other countries.
