![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_hero-b-852x479.jpg)
Single-room cabin by JacobsChang is set among trees in upstate New York
Manhattan studio JacobsChang designed this tiny blackened timber cabin on a shoestring budget for clients who built it in a forest in upstate New York with the help of their friends.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x711.jpg)
The structure called Half-Tree House, is located in the woods in Barryville, roughly 100 kilometres north of New York City.
It encompasses a single 360-square-foot (33 square metres) room built on a budget of $20,000 (£15,500).
"From the outset, the project outlined two formidable directives: to design a structure that can be constructed by two amateur weekend builders and to consider a budget of $20,000 ($50 per square foot)," said the architects.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x638.jpg)
"The topography presented a difficult challenge. In an effort to minimize sitework – in this case, shovels by hand – and to eliminate the need for large footings, retaining walls and pumped concrete, the architecture is lifted above the ground and relies upon support from the trees," they added.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x654.jpg)
At one end of the structure, simple concrete footings are anchored into the ground, while at the opposite end the cabin is held up by adjoining trees via a specialised anchoring system called a Garnier Limb. This consists of a metal element bolted into a tree, which in turn supports the building's wooden frame.
"The Garnier Limb is a patented slip-joint connection allowing the tree and the structure to behave independently," explained the architects.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x640.jpg)
The diminutive cabin is just large enough to fit a bed, an armchair and a small area for preparing basic meals, with heating provide by a wood-burning stove.
Three floor-to-ceiling pivoting windows provide views to the woods, and let air circulate when they are open. The southern aperture also serves as the entrance.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x481.jpg)
The materials used were largely sourced from the property's 60-acre site, including the wooden cladding, which is made from pines felled from the surrounding woods.
Traditional Scandinavian pine-tar was used for the outside, giving it a dark black colour. This contrasts the treatment inside, where the walls were whitewashed and the floors sealed to retain a natural tone.
![Tree House in New York by Jacobschang Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/07/tree-house-jacobschang-architecture-residential-new-york-usa_dezeen_2364_col_10-852x515.jpg)
Studio Padron recently completed a similar project, also in upstate New York. Called Hemmelig Rom, it consists of a one-room library and guest house that was completed with excess lumber from the construction of a nearby property.
Blackened timber cabins are enjoying a moment of popularity, with other recent examples ranging from a small lakeside cabin in Canada to a prefabricated model recently unveiled by Muji that will sell for £21,000.
Photography is by Noah Kalina.