The problem with building a treehouse is finding the right tree. Jono Williams knows this, as he's been building treehouses since childhood, and built this elaborate one as an adult. So for his latest vision, he decided he'd build both the treehouse and the tree.

Williams' Skysphere is a 10-meter-tall steel tower capped with (surprise) a sphere:

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Looks like a rendering, doesn't it? These don't:

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The New-Zealand-based designer/engineer has spent the past few years DIY'ing it together in his spare time, and settled on this design because it confers the main benefit of a tree—height—without the obstructed views, since the column can be mounted anywhere one can pour a foundation. Not to mention the steel cage structure permits the installation of 360 degrees' worth of windows.

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"Too many times I've seen tree houses with the really small windows," Williams writes, "and I'm like 'What's the point [of] building something in a tree when you can't appreciate the surroundings?' With my window (2m high with a circumference of 14m) you won't be short of a nice view – although you will be able to lower curtains if you want."

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Circular rooms are great for 360 views, but bring their own problems in terms of furniture. Thus Williams knocked together his own custom built-ins. 

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And by "custom" we don't just mean that he made them curved to fit the space; he's also working on a built-in beer refrigerator that automatically dispenses one can at a time through the top of it. Here's the mechanism:

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Not as fast as Bottoms Up Beer , but it'll do.

If he gets tired of the view, there's wireless internet, a sound system and a projection screen. Solar panels up top provide the juice. Access is by means of climbing up rungs placed inside the hollow column—Williams says there's enough room inside to ascend while wearing a large backpack—and you can either exit onto the main floor, or continue up to the roof, intended as a stargazing platform. 

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To date, Williams has spent NZ $75,000 (about US $50,000) and put in 3,000 hours of elbow grease. He's documented the entire exhaustive process here.

Via Stuff