Yellow Treehouse; Outer Auckland, New Zealand
This pine-slatted pod, suspended at the midsection of a majestic redwood in a desolate New Zealand forest outside Auckland, began not as some restaurateur or design firm's unlikely vision, but an elaborate marketing stunt. Yellow, the country's yellow pages, made it its objective to prove that residents could get any job done using only its book and online resources — even the construction of a 32-ft.-high (10 meter) treehouse restaurant. In a grand advertising campaign, it followed Aucklander Tracey Collins (airing the ordeal on national T.V.) as she thumbed through its directories and ultimately enlisted the help of Pacific Environment Architects. The result is a wooden, steel-wrapped shell, almost like an oversized onion hanging out to dry, that curves organically around a forty-year-old tree trunk — chosen, of course, by arborists listed in the yellow pages. Accessible via an elevated walkway, for one fully-booked month in 2009, Yellow did indeed operate as a restaurant. Currently, it can be rented out as a space for parties and conferences. The lofty cocoon accommodates 30 seated guests, so you, too, can star in your own public promo.