Governors Island's FELIX is the Next Gen Treehouse

From time to time, we all need to escape from the city. Across the East River, a new refuge now exists on Governors Island. Much to the delight of my inner child, it also comes in the form of a treehouse.

FELIX, as the playscape is known, is not your ordinary treehouse. It’s a legacy, the next step in the evolution of arboreal habitations. The structure was designed and recently installed by a team of 12 architecture students under the guidance of practicing architects Mark Bearak and Jordan Meerdink.

It is now open to the public in partnership with Figment NYC (newyork.figmentproject.org), a not-for-profit organization and free participatory arts festival that takes place during the first weekend of June.

Although the festival is a three-day only event, most of the sculptural and architectural installations will remain on the island all summer long.

FELIX, located at the south end of the Parade Ground, is the successor to Figment’s first treehouse, which was built in 2011 by Benjamin Jones. The wooden structure was inspired “by nature, of nature, and for nature.” As such, it utilizes eco-friendly and reusable materials, which give the treehouse its flexible design.

In fact, much like a tree itself, FELIX was designed to grow overtime. Over the course of the next five years, the model will evolve and expand with the help of future architecture students.

In the meantime, visitors can visit the structure and relax in its mesh pockets by taking a ferry from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park or from the Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan.