Young German architects are designing structures made out of living trees

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,636716,00.html

by robg • 17 years ago

32 9 17 years ago

tocomment2• 17 years ago

I've always hoped we could do this with genetic engineering someday. Make a really fast growing tree that grows hollow inside with a couple rooms.

biohacker422• 17 years ago

There's only so fast anything sun powered will grow. I doubt we'll ever be able to engineer anything which grows faster then bamboo.

tocomment2• 17 years ago

Well how fast is bamboo? I could wait a decade or two for for a house, especially if all I had to do was plant a seed.

Also perhaps we could grow it in a CO2 filled tent to speed it up. That's assuming C02 is a limiting factor in plant growth.

Or perhaps it could grow a frame really fast, and then fill in the walls and keep making them thicker over time. So you can start living in your "tree house" with membrane thin walls and they will thicken over time to become wood.

bitwize• 17 years ago

Jurai?

thomasfl• 17 years ago

Why do it sit here and program all day, when I really would be an architect instead?

rubentopo• 17 years ago

Well you are an architect in a way, you may not be building things out of trees, but you should be building things out of thoughts.

Thoughts may not clean our air, but well directed thoughts may do things just as impressive :D

danw• 17 years ago

Because becoming an architect takes years of education and training. You have to fight and juggle the demands of clients, planners, neighbours and the occupants. It's expensive. It's slow. Most architects don't get to build anything significant until their late 40s or 50s. You're very likely to lose your job every time there's a recession.

With software you can make whatever you want, right now.

Young German architects are designing structures made out of living trees

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