With a roof that stretches up to the treetops, Italy’s TreeBOX turns a traditional hay barn into a forest treehouse

Some treehouses begin at the trunk; Italy’s TreeBOX begins with an old-style hay barn whose roof rises as the hay pile grows.

Tucked among oak trees, this small cabin is located in Selucente, Garessio, Italy. Its wooden structure is raised off the ground, with the roof nearly level with the treetops. From a distance, it looks less like a new building placed in the forest and more like a wooden cabin slowly growing up the hillside.

TreeBOX was created by local architecture studio Officina82. Rather than imagining a treehouse as a little storybook cabin attached to a trunk, the design team looked back at the rural architecture of the Ligurian Alps, transforming structures once used to store hay into a forest retreat where guests can stay overnight.

• Related reading: One of the world’s most fantastical places to stay: No wall in this giant snake-shaped building in Mexico is straight!

From a height-adjustable hay barn to a treehouse

images from/Selucente

TreeBOX is based on a traditional local hay barn known as a “barchi.” Its roof is supported by four wooden posts and can move up or down depending on the amount of hay stored beneath it. As more hay is harvested, the roof rises with it, keeping the hay dry without wasting space.

At TreeBOX, the roof no longer slides, though its sense of upward growth remains. The multi-angled roof extends down to cover the base of the cabin, while slender wooden posts raise the entire structure, as though capturing the moment a hay barn rises among the oaks.

Wood shingles run continuously across the exterior walls and roof, taking on warm gold, brown, or almost black tones as the light changes throughout the day. By day, it blends into the tree trunks and hillside; at night, light spilling from the entrance and windows brings the cabin back into view among the trees.

Just 12 square meters, yet the view stretches all the way to the valley

images from/Selucente

TreeBOX has an interior area of only about 12 square meters, yet its highest point reaches roughly 4.05 meters. Rather than expanding outward, the design team used the roof’s height to create different levels, giving the cabin a sense of spaciousness despite its limited footprint.

On the lower level, a double bed faces a floor-to-ceiling window, so when guests open their eyes in the morning, the first thing they see is not a wall, but oak trees, the hillside, and distant ridgelines. A small terrace extends beside the glass, where a table and chairs allow breakfast and evening relaxation to take place at forest level.

Up a narrow wooden ladder, a rope-net loft is tucked beneath the roof. Guests can lie on the net and look through the square skylight overhead at the branches and sky. The net also lets natural light filter down into the bedroom below.

Inside, unfinished plywood covers the walls, stairs, and ceiling, preserving the wood’s natural grain and knots. The stay includes a double bed and breakfast, with the option to add one more sleeping space. A private shower and bathroom are located about 30 meters from TreeBOX, keeping the cabin itself as pared back as possible.

Building a treehouse is also a way of finding a new future for a mountain village

images from/Selucente

Selucente, where TreeBOX is located, is not simply a newly built resort, but part of a long-term project to restore the mountain village of Alpisella. This settlement, at an elevation of around 1,000 meters, once had a school, a communal oven, and a church. As residents moved away, it gradually lost its original day-to-day functions.

Officina82 is restoring existing stone houses, barns, and public spaces while adding small wooden structures such as StarsBOX, GlamBOX, and TreeBOX, seeking to transform traditional rural forms into new lodging experiences. These structures do not pretend to be historic buildings; instead, their designs draw from local materials, roofs, and agricultural life.

TreeBOX’s appeal lies in more than simply “sleeping in a tree.” It brings a roof once used for hay back up to travelers’ eye level, giving a gradually forgotten mountain village a reason to be seen and inhabited again.

Perhaps a truly captivating treehouse does not need to hide itself as far from the world as possible. It can face the forest while still remembering the land and way of life it grew from.

Join Popbee Circle and subscribe to the Popbee newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news and get early access to exclusive perks and discounts! Besides this article, here are a few recent stories worth checking out: