Located in the waters of Homestead, Florida, Tree of Life is a serene villa complex designed to alleviate visitors from stress and anxiety. Iranian architect Milad Eshtiyaghi visualized the project as six independent villas connected by footpaths. Both the walkways and the buildings float gently on the existing pond and immerse guests in nature. To fit with the peaceful atmosphere of the surroundings, the villas are designed with organic forms, lacking harsh edges with the exception of their angled roofs.
These organic buildings in Tree of Life were inspired by the vegetation in the surrounding landscape. The architect says they were meant to be of the same language so that the complex could “become one” with nature in Homestead. Each individual villa acts as a leaf on the larger tree of the design.
Eshtiyaghi says that the aerial perspective of the project is critical to understanding its meaning. “When we look at the site from above, it is like a single tree that has the sky in its background (because the existing pond reflects the sky).” He says that the complex is both surrounded by living trees and symbolically connected to the trees through this alternative view of the project.
For more work by architect Milad Eshtiyaghi, read our coverage of his earlier work in Landscape House in the forests of Switzerland and the dramatic Mountain House embedded in the mountains of Vancouver.