Treehouse Designing with Technologic

                                                     Placerville, CA

                         Using cutting edge hardware & software 

                    to make better designs and better tree houses

                                  John Shulters @ Ascension Studios

                                 Michael Shulters @ Treehouse Nation

John Shulters presenting several digital treehouse design techniques using iPad apps and other programs.

Integrating technologies will make your designing easier, and more fun! There’s nothing easier than making a pencil mark on a piece of paper, but often we need to get a little more out of our designs than just lines on a page.

 “Remember the old adage “measure twice, cut once”

Getting everything right during design development is as important as during construction. Whether it’s simply adding fractional dimensions, computing complex angles, or detecting structural collisions before they occur, there are many tools available to the tree house designer to make the whole process easier and more accurate.

During this 2 day hands-on workshop, you’ll be shown several free tools that anyone can use, and you’ll also receive the training necessary to begin your design now! You’ll learn about the best digital tools used in the industry today.

Below are a few things we’ll cover in this course:

John Shulters explains treehouse modeling techniques

• A look into the technologist’s tool kit
• How to think in three dimensions
• How you can use free software as a starting point for your 3D design
• How advanced digital tools in skilled hands can take your design even further
• Mobile apps that can help in the field when planning, designing, and building
• How to better estimate costs of a project
• How to convey design intent to others on the project
• Ways to impress your family and friends with awesome visuals!

NOTE: Due to the nature of the individual training required, this workshop will be limited to 4 participants.

Workshop Schedule:

Day 1

Check-in & breakfast 8:00-9:00

Morning sessions  9:00-12:00

Group introductions

Greetings and Introductions

Treehouse projects

Learning goals

A look into the technologists tool kit

Photography

Videography

CAD & 3D applications

Learning how to think in 3D

Demonstrating various design solutions

Hands on with 3D games

Review treehouse books

Lunch 12:00-1:00

Afternoon sessions 1:00-4:00

Technology in the field; apps to help plan, design, and build

Site surveys using 123D Catch

Group exercise:  putting  it all together

Field Trips 4:00-6:00

Coloma: home of  California’s gold rush

Henningson Lotus Park on the  South Fork American River

Dinner & music 6:00-8:00

DAY 2

Breakfast 8:00-9:00

Morning sessions  9:00-12:00

Software hands-on

123D Catch: export your survey

Sketchup: plan and design your project

Revit/3ds max: take your design to the next level

Lunch 12:00-1:00

Afternoon sessions  1:00-4:00

Estimating the cost of your project

Conveying your design intent to others

Review: planning, designing, and presentation of your project

What a consultant can do for your project

Depart 4:00

“For those who love the fresh smell of pine, the comfort of the wilderness and the relaxation of sleeping under a tree-lined canopy, you’re welcome to tune in to “Treehouse Men,” a new series featuring the world’s foremost treehouse builder and author Pete Nelson. The series will debut this spring on Animal Planet”.  Read the rest of the story here….

Pete Nelson’s Treehouse Point continues to get excellent coverage for the great treehouse experience and beautiful location it offers.  When I visited Treehouse Point, it was like stepping into an entirely different world that was begging you to enter!  Check out this pictorial overview at Inhabitat Architecture and you’ll be ready to start making your plans to visit!  Two of the outstanding treehouses, Temple of the Blue Moon and Trillium, are shown here for your viewing pleasure!

Trillium treehouse (photo by Mike Shulters)

“Trillium” interior view from the loft. (photo by Mike Shulters)

The comfy interior! (photo by Mike Shulters)

Temple of the Blue Moon (photo by Mike Shulters)

Part architecture, part sculpture, part childhood dream: a treehouse built for the community.

Find out how you can be part of the project at Kickstarter!

In my previous post, I described the exciting treehouse design workshop coming your way this spring.  We now have a preliminary agenda for both days available. We’ll be providing detailed information on each session very soon, so check back often!  We’re looking forward to seeing you at the ranch!

Sunset on the Ranch, Placerville, California

DAY 1:

Morning:

Lunch at the ranch

Afternoon

Mobile apps to help plan, design, and build.
Field site survey (by groups at different trees )
Group exercise to pull it all together.

Dinner and music at the ranch

DAY 2:

Morning

Sketchup to plan and design your project
123D catch: helping you visualize your project
Revit and 3ds max to take your design even further

Lunch at the ranch

Afternoon

Estimating the cost of your project
Conveying your design intent to others
Review: planning, designing, and presentation of your project
Consulting for your project

 COMING TO PLACERVILLE, CA,  SPRING 2013!  Designing Treehouses with Technologic: A workshop where you’ll learn how cutting edge hardware & software can help you create better designs and better treehouses.

John Shulters

Presented by John Shulters from AscensionStudios.com and Michael Shulters from TreehouseNation.com.   Technologic design was introduced by John at both Pete Nelson’s Treehouse workshop and the World Treehouse and Zipline conference in 2012.  This workshop will reveal even more and provide both in-the-field and tabletop training.

John Shulters presenting several digital treehouse design techniques using iPad apps and other programs.

During this 2 day hands-on workshop, you’ll be shown free tools that anyone can use and you’ll receive the hands-on training necessary to begin your design now! You’ll learn about the best digital tools used in the industry today.

Below are a few things that will be covered in this workshop:

● A look into the technologist’s tool kit

● How to think in three dimensions

● How to use SketchUp as a starting point for your 3D design

● How tools like Revit and 3ds max can take your design even further

● Mobile apps that can help in the field when planning, designing, and building

● How to better estimate costs of a project

● How to convey design intent to others on the project

● Ways to impress your family and friends with awesome visuals!

Integrating technology will make your designing easier and more fun!

Getting everything right during design development is as important as during construction. Whether it’s simply adding fractional dimensions, computing complex angles, or detecting structural collisions before they occur, there are many tools available to the tree house designer to make the whole process easier and more accurate. STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DATES, COSTS, AND LOGISTICS!

Tree climbing at Pete Nelson’s treehouse workshop.

What a great year it’s been for treehouses and treehouse enthusiasts!  Attending Pete Nelson’s treehouse workshop at the beautiful Deer Haven Farms B&B in Newburg, Oregon, was my highlight for the year. I learned more than I thought possible about tree climbing, ropes and knots, rigging, treehouse support hardware and installation, and building in the trees.   Our wonderful hosts, Stuart and Christina Sommers, Judy Nelson, and Zoe made sure we were comfortable and well fed!

Hands-on treehouse building at Deer Haven Farms

Check out Pete Nelson’s workshop site here to learn more about his workshops. Pete’s team is really an amazingly talented group.  They not only know just about everything there is to know about building houses in trees, but they can also teach the novice with patience and good humor!

Pete’s partner in leading and teaching is Jake Jacobs of Treehouse ARTZ.  Pete and Jake have designed and built many treehouses together and they love to share their knowledge and experience with everyone during the workshop sessions and evening social events.  There are a lot of questions that pop up during the course of the workshop and it’s great to be able to turn directly to the experts to discuss them.  The entire crew, Daryl McDonald, Ian Weedman, Charlie Nelson, Chuck Mcclellan, Seanix Zenobia went out of their way to answer questions and make sure that we learned to do things correctly.

Jake Jacobs presenting on the finer artz of tree climbing and rigging

Pete Nelson

A BIG thanks to Pete, Jake, and the whole team for making the workshop both fun and educational!

Deer Haven Farms 3D visualization by Ascension Studios