Rising out of the forest on several wooden stilts, an unusual modern treehouse looks down at the lush landscapes of South Africa’s Cape Town. Designed by the local firm Malan Vorster Architecture and Interior Design, the “Paarman Treehouse” was not really built around a tree, as much as it might resemble an organic growth that sprouted up out of the ground. Two cylindrical towers protrude from its facade, both covered in timber slats and glass window panes that glitter in the sunlight.

The treehouse’s elevated design recalls the complex arrangements of play structures found in backyards and playgrounds and gives it an air of youth and innocence. The clients commissioned the architects, who had previously worked on some of the neighboring buildings, to capture the feeling of a children’s secret treehouse in an elegant and contemporary way. Ultimately, they created a serene, cabin-like getaway.
Paarman Treehouse bears three especially striking features: its unconventional shape, its operable glass panels, which can open to expose the entire interior to the outdoors, and its focus on the kind of craftsmanship you’d expect to see in analog toys and industrial furniture. The home is four stories high and contains a lot of space that opens all the way up to the ceiling, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere that could make anyone forget the house only had a single bedroom.

A rusted steel ramp leads up to the home’s entrance and into t...