Grammy-award-winning artist Zac Brown longed of building a tree house for campers at his passion project – Camp Southern Ground in Fayetteville, Georgia. The camp’s mission is to serve children of all abilities with a special emphasis on those with neurodevelopmental disorders as well as social or emotional challenges.
Since Zac wanted the tree house to have a building life of 100+ years, elZinc Slate was used. elZinc Slate is an original metallic grey finish created throughout the production process. When exposed to the elements, zinc naturally develops a thin protective layer referred to as patina. The patina develops resistance to weathering and corrosion. In addition to its beauty, this protective patina provides longevity that allows zinc to remain intact for over 100 years in most climates.

Zinc was also selected as exterior sheathing due to its corrosion-resistance and it being 100% recyclable. When sheathed in zinc metal sheeting, the treehouse looks like a futuristic crustacean, hence its name “Space Crab”. The outside was designed to resemble a horseshoe crab while the inside offers a “Knights of the Round Table” style design, complete with a 1,500-pound, hand-crafted table made from Parota wood that electronically lowers right out of the ceiling. This massive Space Crab is the perfect getaway for kids to share ideas and create music. It is capable of holding up to 150 people and can carry over 187,000 pounds!
Zac articulated the inspirational quality of being in the Space Crab, saying, “It makes you feel like you’re not anywhere else that you’ve been before, which makes you believe that you can be something that you’ve never been before.”
This project will continue to serve as an incredible addition to the life-changing Camp Southern Ground for years to come.

Project Overview
Project: Camp Southern Ground “Space Crab” Tree house
Year: 2017
Product: Flatlock panels
Zinc Distributor: elZinc America – Peachtree City, GA
http://elzinc.us.com/
Fabricator: MetalTech-USA – Peachtree City, GA
http://www.metaltech-usa.com/
Architect: Jefferson Browne Gresham Architects – Peachtree City, GA
https://www.jeffersonbrownearchitects.com/