What Comes of Viscous Wood: Designing Space with Living Architecture

Abstract

What if buildings are grown in the future?

In an urban scape of materially static architecture, unsustainable construction methods, and generic spaces designed for speed and scalability, there is incentive to find affinity with nature. One instance is through investigations of biophilic built-up environments. This thesis introduces novel construction methods and alternative spatial typologies as opportunities in architectural design, particularly, the role of living trees as a functional building.

Architecture often places trees amongst buildings, as found in green roofs and living walls, or buildings amongst trees, such as tree-houses or cabins. However, there are very limited examples that propose trees as buildings. Although practiced by the ancients, few have investigated living trees as structural and aesthetic systems for building architecture. The research is only exposed through limited international designers, academics, gardeners, and artists.

The purpose of this study expands upon existing knowledge in hybrid structural systems in architectural design by contextualizing baubotanik (hybrid construction with living trees and artificial structures) and arbortecture (general practice of shaping trees to create spatial context) methods in southwest Ontario, Canada while synthesizing bonsai (East Asian practice of miniaturizing trees) and arborsculpture (living-tree art) techniques. This thesis outlines general knowledge, influences, and history of tree-shaping. Subsequently, a series of small-scale experiments are designed to demonstrate the potential of shaping, structure, and inosculation qualities in trees as spatial form applications using bonsai techniques. The experiments are conducted using native willow cuttings found in southern Ontario to emulate full-scale structures. Informed from the findings, the thesis illustrates fragments of a possible future to provoke imagination, where living tree structures become plausible spaces.

The hope of this study is to contribute more speculations on the potential of living-tree architecture and to build upon further development in the field of research pertaining to hybrid systems construction, sustainability, and to generate architectural discourse. As space-makers in a world facing rapid growth and sustainability challenges, what if we become space-growers instead? Let’s go outside and plant some buildings.