There’s no question that technology has eroded our patience. Can you imagine waiting a full minute for your dial-up modem to connect to the Internet today? In architecture terms, that’s like waiting 60 years for a project to be completed. Which is exactly what the Stockholm-based studio Visiondivision has planned for the Politecnico di Milano campus: a canopy of trees that will take six decades--and a ginormous green thumb--to build.
The architects write on their website.
“If we can be patient with the building time, we can reduce the need for transportation, waste of material and different manufacturing processes, simply by helping nature grow in a more architectonic and useful way.”
During a weeklong workshop, they taught students the techniques--such as bending, braiding, pruning, and grafting--required to construct a study retreat, aptly called "The Patient Gardener," from only plants and trees.
The main structure is a dome of 10 Japanese cherry trees, which are planted around a temporary tower that acts as a guide. Once the bent trees touch the tower, they will be redirected into an hourglass shape, the top of which will become a second level for reading and lounging and accessed by stairs of branches. The architects even devised furniture made from greenery, including a chair that seems to have organically sprung from the ground but is actually a cardboard form covered in soil and draped in grass.
Visiondivision left behind instructions for future generations of gardeners. The architects write.
“In about 80 years from now, the Politecnico di Milano campus will have a fully grown building and the students will hopefully have proud grandchildren that can tell the story of the project for their friends and family.”
That's a far cry from the instant gratification we've come to expect; rather, it's the long view we need to take when measuring our impact on the planet.
COMMENTARY: That's what I call a very cool idea. The students can pass on their tree growing heritage to the next class, and they can continue planting and growing the trees for "The Patient Garden". 60 years from now, the result will be one incredible tree dome. Just in time for their retirement years.
Courtesy of an article dated November 10, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design
Sixty years is worth the wait for this beautiful tree. It will surely be a great place to spend quality time with the family. I wish we can have a tree as beautiful as this one in our community.
Posted by: Darius Adlam | 01/16/2012 at 01:28 PM