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"QUANTUM SHOT" #587
Link - article by Dylan Thuras and Avi Abrams

      We welcome our guest writer, Dylan Thuras of the
          Atlas Obscura,
          with a spell-binding tale of the "living architecture"' the world
          over, a tale which deserves to be told (and learned from, by modern
          architects)

      Living Architecture: Growing your house, one chair at a time

      Plants are amazing: they provide food, air, medicine, and material for
      buildings, furniture, and art. But through an ancient yet obscure craft,
      still-living plants can themselves be shaped into bridges, tables,
      ladders, chairs, sculptures - even buildings. Known variously as botanical
      architecture, tree sculpture, tree-shaping, tree-grafting, pooktre,
      arborsculpture, and arbortecture, the craft is, essentially, construction
      with living plants.

      
      (image credit:
        Weihua Wei, CGSociety)

      The concept seems to date back to prehistoric times. Perhaps the oldest
      examples are the living bridges of Cherrapunjee, India.

      1.
        Root Bridges of India
      

      In the depths of northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on
      earth, bridges aren't built -- they're grown.

      
      
      
      (images credit:
        Vanlal Tochhawng)

      Grown from the roots of a rubber tree, the Khasis people of Cherapunjee
      use betel-tree trunks, sliced down the middle and hollowed out, to create
      "root-guidance systems." When they reach the other side of the river,
      they're allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time a sturdy,
      living bridge is produced.

      
      (image via)

      The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to
      fifteen years to become fully functional, but they're extraordinarily
      strong. Some can support the weight of 50 or more people at once. One of
      the most unique root structures of Cherrapunjee is known as the "Umshiang
      Double-Decker Root Bridge." It consists of two bridges stacked one over
      the other!

      
      
      (images credit:
        Marcus Fornell,
        Jim Ratcliffe)

      
      (image via 1,
        2)

      Because the bridges are alive and still growing, they actually gain
      strength over time, and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the
      people of the villages around Cherrapunjee may be well over 500 years old.

      
      (image credit:
        Marcus Fornell)

      But these are not the only bridges built from growing plants. Japan too,
      has its own form of living bridges.

      2.
          The Vine Bridges of Iya Valley

      
      (image
        via)

      One of Japan's three "hidden" valleys, West Iya is home to the kind of
      misty gorges, clear rivers, and thatched roofs one imagines in the Japan
      of centuries ago. To get across the Iya River that runs through the rough
      valley terrain, bandits, warriors and refugees created a very special - if
      slightly unsteady - bridge made of vines.

      
      (image via)

      This is a picture from the 1880s of one of the original vine bridges.

      
      (image
        via)

      First, two Wisteria vines -- one of the strongest vines known -- were
      grown to extraordinary lengths from either side of the river. Once the
      vines had reached a sufficient length they were woven together with
      planking to create a pliable, durable and, most importantly, living piece
      of botanical engineering.

      
      
      (images via 1,
        2)

      The bridges had no sides, and a Japanese historical source relates that
      the original vine bridges were so unstable, those attempting to cross them
      for the first time would often freeze in place, unable to go any farther.
      Three of those vine bridges remain in Iya Valley. 
      
      While some (though apparently not all) of the bridges have been reinforced with wire and side
      rails, they are still harrowing to cross. More than 140 feet long, with
      planks set six to eight inches apart and a drop of four-and-a-half stories
      down to the water, they are not for acrophobes.

      
      (images via 1,
        )

      Some people believe the existing vine bridges were first grown in the 12th
      century, which would make them some of the oldest known examples of living
      architecture in the world. But there is one ancient group of peoples who
      took the concept to an entirely new level.

      
      (image
        via)

      3.
        The Living Islands of the Uros People
        
      

      The Uros peoples' lives revolve around reeds. They make reed houses, reed
      boats, reed flower tea, and use reeds as medicine.

      
      
      (image credit:
        Benjamin)

      But most amazingly, the Uros build entire islands out of those very same
      reeds. It is the fact that these islands are alive that makes them work.
      The dense root structures of the living reed masses keeps the whole island
      together and floating on the lake.

      
      
      (images via 1,
        2 )

      As reeds disintegrate from the bottom of the islands, which are four to
      eight feet thick, residents must add more to the surface. The entire
      island moves slightly with the water, similar to the feeling of laying on
      a waterbed. The Uros, however, have gotten quite used to it, as have the
      cats, fowl and other animals that live on these floating islands.

      
      (images via
        1,
        2)

      The Uros have been living on these floating islands since the 1500s when
      they were forced to take up residence on Lake Titicaca after the Incas
      expanded into their territory. While many of the islands are moored to the
      lakebed, they can be moved if necessary. One of the main advantages to
      living on a floating island is that when the enemy comes too close, you
      can just float the other way.

      
      (image
        via)

      Even tiny outhouse islands have been created, in which the living roots
      help absorb the waste.

      
      (image
        via)

      Today, in the shadow of the Andes, on the world’s highest navigable lake,
      hundreds of Uros (or descendants of the Uros, depending on how you define
      them) live on these floating islands and make their living from fishing
      and selling their reed handicrafts to tourists.

      
      

      4. "Espalier" Art Form

      Another more common form of tree shaping is known as espalier - the
      process of creating three-dimensional forms out of trees. A popular
      practice in Medieval times, the craft likely dates back to ancient Egypt.
      Espalier can be used to make ornamental trees, increase the yield of a
      fruit tree, or build a sturdy fence or wall from growing trees. On Pacific
      Street in Pacific Heights, San Francisco:

      
      (image credit:
        David Pham,
        ShapeShift.net)

      One of the more famous examples of espalier can be seen at the Cloisters
      in Manhattan, New York:

      
      (image
        via)

      
      (A Living Menorah in Illinois, Allerton Park - image
        via)

      Of course, not all living architecture is about building or shaping things
      out of trees. Sometimes it makes sense to build things inside of them...

      5.
        The Chapel Oak
        
      

      Like something out of a fairy tale (or Keebler Elves commercial) the
      hollowed trunk of this ancient oak tree is home to two small chapels,
      reached by a spiral staircase winding up the trunk.

      
      (images via
        1,
        2)

      In the early 1660s, a 470-year-old oak tree in Allouville-Bellefosse,
      France, was struck and hollowed by a lighting strike. Not only did the
      tree survive this attack, but it came to the attention of Abbot Du Détroit
      and Father Du Cerceau. In 1669 they began building a shrine to the Virgin
      Mary directly inside the tree itself. Later, a staircase climbing the
      outside of the tree was built and another chapel was added on a "second
      floor" of the tree.

      
      (image
        via)

      Things almost took a very bad turn for the tree during the French
      Revolution when a mob stormed the tree and threatened to burn down this
      symbol of the abhorred Church. A quick-thinking local renamed the oak the
      "Temple of Reason," sparing it a fiery fate.

      
      (images
        via)

      Here we enter what could be called the modern period of botanical
      architecture. It begins in Wisconsin, with a banker named John Krubsack.

      6.
        The Chair That Grew
      

      One day in 1903, a friend of Krubsack’s openly admired a beechwood chair
      he had crafted. A man who perhaps didn't know how to take a compliment,
      Krubsack announced, "Dammit, one of these days I am going to grow a piece
      of furniture that will be better and stronger than any human hands can
      build." Fifteen years later, he had done just that, with every joint in
      his chair "cemented by nature".

      
      (images via
        1,
        2)

      Though many handsome offers were made for the famous chair, Krubsack
      refused to sell, eventually leaving it to his nephew to be displayed in
      his furniture store. The "Chair That Grew" was last seen at the entrance
      of Noritage Furniture, owned by Krubsack’s descendants. The store recently
      closed and the fate of the chair is unknown, but it likely still resides
      somewhere in the tiny town of Embarrass, WI, not far from where it grew
      nearly 100 years ago.

      
      (images via
        1,
        2)

      7.
        The Circus Trees of Axel Erlandson
      

      Where Krubsack was a pioneer, Axel Erlandson was a visionary -- though he
      didn't know it at the time. Axel Erlandson never intended to create a new
      genre of sculpture or become the father of an art movement. He just wanted
      to entertain his family.

      
      (images via 1,
        2)

      A farmer in California, Erlandson had noticed the curious ability of trees
      to naturally graft themselves together. So, in 1925 Erlandson began
      planning a series of trees that were deliberately grafted together for
      artistic effect. His first creation was the "Four Legged Giant," four
      trees which he merged into a single truck, creating a kind of tree-gazebo.
      
      In 1945, twenty years after Erlandson had begun his hobby, his daughter
      suggested to her father that he might open some kind of "Tree Circus" to
      showcase his unusual arbor creations. Erlandson did just that, creating
      over 70 unique items in his Tree Circus. Among his creations were a tree
      that split into a cube, an arch tree and a six-tree woven basket.

      
      
      (images credit:
        Arborsmith.com)

      The Tree Circus was a not much of a financial success, and in 1963
      Erlandson sold the property, trees and all, and died shortly thereafter.
      It wasn't long before all 70 trees were forgotten and by 1977 only forty
      of the unique specimens remained. These were all scheduled to be bulldozed
      to create a mall. 
      
      Luckily for the trees, and for the world, they were
      saved from this fate by Michael Bonfante, owner of Nob Hill Foods.
      Bonfante, a horticultural connoisseur, opened a theme park and in 1985
      relocated the trees to what is now known as Gilroy Gardens.

      
      (images via 1,
        2)

      Today, 25 of Axel Erlandson's tree-shaping creations are on display at
      Gilroy Gardens, and his first creation, the Four Legged Giant remains
      alive and well some 80 years after Erlandson’s idea first took root.

      8.
        The Auerworld Palace
      

      Many of these marvels are the works of one dedicated person, but the
      mysterious Auerworld Palace took some 300 volunteers to create. Architect
      Marcel Kalberer and his group, Sanfte Strukturen, are re-envisioning the
      way living building materials and techniques can be used to design modern
      spaces - with willows.

      
      
      
      (images credit:
        SanfteStrukturen,
        via)

      Constructed in 1998, the Auerworld Palace in Aeurstedt, Germany may be the
      first modern "willow palace," but the techniques Kalberer uses are
      ancient. Sumerian reed houses were famous for their construction of
      tightly bound reeds.

      
      
      
      (other structures by Sanfte Strukturen - images via
        1, 2)

      But where Kalberer and his team create buildings out of trees, Austrian
      artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser has created a building
      inspired by, and incorporating, trees.

      9.
        Waldspirale, or Forest Spiral
      

      Hundertwasser wasn’t much fond of straight lines, dubbing them "the
      devil's tools." In fact, his famous apartment building, Waldspirale, does
      away with them entirely and is instead a celebration of nature’s sinuous
      loops and arcs. Located in Darmstadt, Germany, Waldspirale translates to
      "wooded spiral," and that is exactly what it is. It hosts as many trees as
      human occupants.

      
      
      (images via
        1,
        2)

      10. Modern Organic Forms 

      Today a growing number of tree grafters, arborsculptors and botanical
      architects are working to create new organic forms. Among them is
      Richard Reames who
      coined the terms arborsculpture and arbortecture (he also
      has a book on the subject, order it
      here).
      
      Richard grows and shapes tree trunks using the ancient arts of grafting,
      framing, bending and pruning. He believes that his living arborsculptures
      could one day replace many of the things that trees are typically killed
      to make.

      
      
      (images credit:
        Richard Reames)

      Another absolutely wonderful tree grafter who has been working since
      before the form even had a name is
      Dan Ladd. Ladd
      crafts trees into whimsical shapes, and incorporates other objects into
      the trees.

      
      (images credit: Dan Ladd)

      Ladd
      also practices the ancient art of gourd shaping. These are all gourds that
      were growing inside of forms. They have not been carved or altered after
      they were harvested.

      
      
      (images credit: Dan Ladd)

      Tree grafters Peter Cook and his wife Becky Northey have developed a range
      of their own special tree-shaping techniques, which they call
      pooktre.

      
      (image credit: Peter Cook)

      Among the many other artists working in the form are
      Konstantin Kirsch,
      Laura Spector, and
      Aharon Naveh.

      
      (images credit:
        Aharon Naveh)

      
      (staircases by
        Laura Spector)

      Best links on the subject and further reading:
      1,
      2,
      3,
      4,
      5.

      
      (image credit:
        Weihua Wei, CGSociety)

      ALSO READ: "ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE OF A. GAUDI" ->

      DON'T MISS: "HOBBIT HOUSES!" ->
  



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YOUR COMMENTS::

14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reames has a book on the subject.
http://www.arborsmith.com

___  
Blogger saint said...

WOW

I don't think I've ever clicked on quite so wonderful a link before.

I've often thought about this kinda thing, read about it in fantasy novels... extremely excited to see it coming to life. Good show.

___  
Blogger miasto-masa-maszyna said...

I think that Tomasz Bagiński's Cathedral is a bit on topic here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GyHvBogrI

___  
Anonymous WannaSmile.com said...

Wow...every bit of that was incredibly interesting. Thanks for sharing that information with us!

___  
Blogger Unknown said...

There are new building materials being introduced nowadays made with super dense formed fungus. Its apparently tons stronger than drywall, and far lighter as well.

___  
Blogger Unknown said...

This is wonderful! The "chair that grew" reminds me of Odysseus' marriage bed (made of a living tree, so when Penelope tells him she's moved it, he gets angry and thus proves he's really her husband).

___  
Blogger Unknown said...

Down here in Australia, the Boab tree of the semi-arid west has a short, squat and voluminious trunk that had been used variously as a house, jail and particularly sturdy restroom.

___  
Blogger Avi Abrams said...

Meat - "Superdense Formed Fungus Furniture"! Sounds great, can't wait to get one (just don't want it to grow too much...)

___  
Blogger B. Durbin said...

I actually grew up with a shaped tree in the backyard— my dad spent a couple of decades shaping a cave out of the lower branches of a mulberry, while the upper area has a fort-like feel, big enough for several adults (we've gotten at least eight up there at one time.) It was a great place to read.

When I was going to college, my dad asked if he should remove the cave. "Dad, you are going to have grandchildren at some point!"

Not to the level of these things, but it goes to show that even an amateur can come up with something lovely and appreciated.

___  
Blogger Kate said...

Next up? Skyscrapers! http://blogs.discovery.com/news_sustainable/2009/09/tree_tower.html

___  
Anonymous Azdaja said...

This is so fantastically beautiful. Thank you: this made my week!

___  
Anonymous lolostefanis said...

AMAZING!!!

___  
Anonymous Nold Egenter said...

Fantastic presentation! Marvelous! But, all that is not just fantasy of some crazy peoples. It is part of our own cultural heritage. Not only huts and shelters of reeds or twig-arks bound with lianas covered with leaves are still part of everyday life in many places of the world. In ethnology or cultural anthropology this is well known today. But archaeology has mistakenly taught us to accept only durable materials as prehistory of material culture. In contrast to this we can construct a "soft prehistory" getting together all the secondary sources of signs (early script in China and Mesopotamia) and symbols (life trees) and even early representations of deities (Ishtar-Inanna of Uruk) with their roots in neolithic village culture where they were important as territorial signs and nuclear aesthetic models of the local village culture.
We know even that there were "Babylonian Creation myths" focused not on the universe but on the foundation of the local "cosmos" (that is the spatial organization) of an agrarian village by making a deity of reed which grew and grows in abundance in the Eufrat/Tigris region. The founder becomes some sort of chief of the village. The "Marsh Arabs" are still widespread living there in reed huts and around reed mosques, but having Islam as their religion today.

Paradoxically this very ancient "soft prehistory" is still vital as a sacred tradition of annual cyclic renewal of sacred Shinto-symbols in Japanese agrarian villages. From these traditional survivals we can understand that, originally, this was not "primitive religion", but was a very complex event, an essentially aesthetic territorial demarcation system which used only one symbol in the center of the village built of reed an bamboo and using its aesthetic structure to define the village territory Yin-Yang style: "holy woods and agricultural fields". The annual renewal of the symbol had become a festival of central importance for the village. The destruction of the old one put the whole population into a crazy ecstasy for one night until the new one was rebuilt next morning.
Important: early civilizations copied a lot from this nuclear territorial system of the neolithic agrarian village!
See my 6 videos 01-06 at YouTube (type: 'negenter' in search)

___  
Blogger grunwerg said...

Those "beautiful glass trees" in the BONUS section are by sculptor Dale Chihuly

http://www.chihuly.com/

___  

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