Living Building Material: Using Trees as Construction Material

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Name: Ankit kujur Reg: No: 1140100465 Email: kujurankit824@gmail.com
B. Arch IX Semester, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada

Future oriented urban development concepts should maximize the quality of life for the inhabitants and at
the same time minimize negative impact on the environment. A frequently used appropriate instrument to achieve
this goal is to create big, ecologically effective open space, to plant as many trees as possible and to preserve old
tree populations. Especially when those have a huge positive impact on the urban climate by shading sealed surfaces
and thus avoid the formation of heat islands, improving air quality and evaporating rainwater immediately to return
it into the atmosphere. Although all these positive facts are well known and highly accepted, trees are likely to have
hard times in planning and implementation and are often sacrificed for other priorities. The dilemma is that trees
with their need of space are in competition with the densely built up areas of the city.

This study proposes the development of buildings with characteristics to grow, build, self- repairs, and change with
the seasons, use the forces of nature, is in harmony with its environment, favor biodiversity and natural equilibrium,
is low cost and does not require considerable workforce or industrial material, is carbon free and waste free, return
to nature when no longer in use and enable sustainable and balanced mankind development. The aim of the project
is to bridge the differences between manmade and nature with a sustainable approach.

The methodology used will be based on findings of refined methods from trending concepts like “biomimicry”,”
biomorphisim”, etc. The use of living building material to decrease or nullify the environmental costs of structural
materials will also be investigated. Starting from architectural visions, role models from nature will be strategically
investigated. Computer simulations remodeling relevant principles, and physical models will be used to understand
the process. The software AMAPpara - A software for modelling plant growth will be used. This software takes into
consideration knowledge about plant architecture which has been accumulated at the Plant Modelling Unit of CIRAD
for several years, and introduces physiological concepts in order to simulate the dynamic functioning of trees. Artistic
and architectural tools and methods will be jointly used with practices from botany and natural sciences. Findings
will demonstrate that such a method is not only feasible but also rational and beneficial, from the economic and
environmental perspectives and will thus change the perception of trees in architecture from only aesthetics to
aesthetics, functionality and sustainability.

Keyword – living building material, architecture, trees, growing buildings

Living Building Material: Using Trees as Construction Material

 Living Building Material: Using Trees as Construction Material

Fusion of trees and buildings

References:

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Vallas, T., & Courard, L. (2017). Using nature in architecture: Building a living house with mycelium and trees.
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Ludwig, F., Schwertfreger, H., & Storz, O. (2012). Living Systems: Designing Growth in Baubotanik. Architectural
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Living Building Material: Using Trees as Construction Material