THE UNIVERSITY of Stuttgart says the first ‘baubotanical’ tower made of living trees has been completed, with prototypical building is located in south Germany.
According to the University, over several years its members of the Research Group Baubotanik at the Institute of Theory of Modern Architecture and Design have been focussing on the concept of living plant constructions.
The tower reaching nearly nine meters with a base area of around eight square meters is said to demonstrate the architectural and ecological potentials of living plant constructions.
The tower structure is constructed of several hundred young, two meter high plants held in place by scaffolding. The plants will merged to one organism by methods similar to grafting over several growth periods. When the plants have joined and those at the bottom have developed a sufficient root system in the ground, the plant containers will be removed.
The University says when the living structure is solid enough to carry the load of the three zinc-coated steel platforms and the working load, the scaffolding will be removed.The living tower is said to take between eight and ten years of growth to mature. The structure will be opened to the public on 19 September 2009.