Tree house

A Tree house or tree fort is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, observation or as temporary retreats.

Practical uses

Tree houses are usually built for leisure purposes, but sometimes they may be built for protection against wild animals. In some parts of the tropics, houses are either fastened to trees or elevated on stilts to keep the living quarters above the ground to protect occupants and stored food from scavenging animals. The Korowai, a Papuan tribe in the southeast of Irian Jaya, live in tree houses, some nearly 40 metres (130 ft) high, as protection against a tribe of neighbouring head-hunters, the Citak.

Along with subterranean and ground level houses, tree houses are an option for building eco-friendly houses in remote forest areas, because they do not require a clearing of a certain area of forest. The wildlife, climate and illumination on ground level in areas of dense close-canopy forest is not desirable to some people.

Treehouse (company)

Treehouse (officially Treehouse Island, Inc.) is an online interactive education platform that offers courses in web, mobile and business development. Its courses on web development and programming are aimed at beginners looking to start a new career, while its courses in business education and marketing teach students how to start and market a business in the technology industry.

The site uses short videos, interactive code challenges, quizzes and badges located on a user's profile to teach students. Companies such as Simple and LivingSocial use the site to recruit new employees based on the badges they have earned. In April 2012, Treehouse raised $4.75M in funding. In April 2013, Treehouse closed a US$7 million Series-B fundraising round led by Social+Capital and Kaplan bringing its total raised capital to $12.6 million.

History

Treehouse was founded by Ryan Carson (born 1977) who is currently its CEO. Carson was born in Colorado Springs and graduated from Colorado State University with a Computer Science degree. After graduating, he worked for Fingal, a design agency in London before moving to Bath, United Kingdom. In 2004, Ryan and Gillian Carson founded Carsonified, a company built towards training web designers and developers. It also created web applications and hosted web industry events, conferences and workshops. Carsonified's Headquarters were located in Bath, United Kingdom. In 2008 DropSend, a product created by Carson's company Carsonified, was sold. In 2011, Ryan sold the company which is now named Future Insights and started working on his new project, Treehouse.

House of Whales

House Of Whales, formerly Treehouse, is an American alternative hip hop band from Chicago, Illinois. The trio consists of Rico Sisney (MC, keys) Mike Ruby (bass, guitar), and Aunnoy Badruzzaman (drums, percussion). The group is known for their unique approach to the genre of hip hop and their utilization of live instrumentation.

History

Badruzzaman formed the group in 2010 after collaborating with Sisney. The two began shooting around the idea of starting a new project and began looking for bass players to round out the group’s sound, “We had jammed with a few other people, but we stopped jamming with people as soon as we jammed with Mike Ruby. It was just instant,” Badruzzaman said. Though founded in Chicago, the band’s members originate from across the U.S. Badruzzaman and Ruby are from Southern and Northern California and Sisney is from Atlanta. In 2012, the band released their debut EP, Tell No One, following their appearance in New York City at CMJ Music Marathon 2012 and a month-long tour in the San Francisco Bay Area. The EP went on to be nominated for a 2012 Independent Music Award.