Twelve treehouse suites, built to offer hotel guests an unusual experience of treetop luxury, are located in a wooded valley several hundred metres from the Chewton Glen Hotel.
The treehouses appear as floating pavilions that nestle high amongst the trees, ensuring that the suites are like private hideaways.
To ensure the treehouse suites were in keeping with the hotel’s picturesque surroundings, Chewton Glen required a woodcare solution which would not only provide a quality finish, but also enhance the natural beauty of the wood. With sustainability in mind, the developers also required a durable solution which would have minimal impact on the environment.
Planning, design and environment consultancy, Terence O’Rourke, was brought in to design and implement the project.
"From the initial planning stages, our aim was to create a unique, prestigious accommodation complex, which would have as little effect as possible on the environment, both in terms of the physical surroundings and long term sustainability," said Terry Williams, technical director at Terence O’Rourke.
"When it came to selecting the woodcare products, Sikkens fitted the bill perfectly, as the coatings enabled us to meet our design and functionality requirements, as well as achieve a quality finish, without compromising on the sustainability credentials of the project."
The external ‘wrap’ of the treehouses was carefully designed to reflect the bark of the surrounding trees. To enhance this, Sikkens Cetol Novatech, a translucent woodstain with a semi-gloss finish, designed to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, was specified for the cladding.
For the canopy edges and link bridges, Sikkens Cetol BL Opaque was selected to complement the marine grade plywood used in the development. The water-borne product offered a sustainable solution in comparison with traditional opaques, and also provided added durability due to its flexible and vapourpermeable formulation.
"We selected products that we knew would enhance the overall design and echo the natural surroundings," said Mr Williams.
Chris O’Reilly, specifier account manager at Sikkens, described the project as exceptional and one with very specific requirements.
"Given the prestige of Chewton Glen and the exclusivity of the treehouses, it was essential that we specified products which provided a suitably high quality finish, but which would also support the developers in meeting sustainability targets."
