Sean Orlando and his crew are working on an amazing project for Burning Man 2007, a 30’ tall Steampunk Tree House. To help fund this project, they are having a “Steampunk Tree House: Roots To Roof Fundraiser” this Saturday, June 9th at NIMBY in Oakland featuring a bunch of great steampunk art and performances.

The Steampunk Tree House is representative of a mutually beneficial relationship between people and nature: humans living in harmony with the planet and its natural elements. The House component itself is built of recycled wood, styled after the Victorian age of architecture, H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne, combined with the organic elements of nature. It’s a house of mystery, a surreal otherworldly décor that invites its inhabitants to leave behind personal items, figurative pieces of themselves, memories of their childhood innocence, and invites them to release their thoughts and messages to be scribbled on the walls. –Recall the film, City of Lost Children, with its trapdoors, hidden compartments, cyborg fleas, oil lamps, wrought iron hardware, keys that unlock secret compartments, a lookout perch and its organically styled wrought iron architecture.– The House component is built into, and is a part of the Tree in which it sits. The skeleton of the Tree is made of structural steel pipe, while recycled gears, gauges, pipes and other metal objects adorn the Tree and House. A tire swing will hang from one of its main branches and faux birds will (securely) perch in its branches.

Can’t make it to the party? You can still make a donation to help fund this fantastic installation through The Crucible, the fiscal sponsor of the Steampunk Tree House. They are also looking for volunteers who are interested in contributing their time, skills and materials to the project.