Baubotanik shapes living tree branches into building facades

Architects Ferdinand Ludwig and Daniel Schönle would like to revolutionize the way we build, or more appropriately “grow”, our buildings. Inspired by the ancient art of tree shaping - from Japanese Bonsai to India’s Living Tree Bridges - they have added modern materials, like metal scaffolding, to graft a 10-meter-high (33 feet) living tower near Germany’s Black Forest.
The Plane-Tree-Cube Nagold is their largest living plant structure yet though Ludwig has spent years experimenting with “baubotanik” (bau= building + “botanik” = botany) techniques, inspired by historical examples.
Ludwig’s first biodesigned structure was the Baubotanik Footbridge planted in 2005 as an initial attempt to get people into the canopy of the trees. Biodesign relies on processes that occur in nature, such as inosculation: a grafting process where the limbs of separate trees grow together, shedding bark and outer layers so the inner tissue and vasculature combine to create one organism. Another technique inspired by the events in the natural world is “uberballung” where a limb “grows over” another element, normally a metal beam or rod.
Baubotanik constructions evolve over time. As the trees grow together they become strong enough to be load-bearing and more and more of the metal infrastructure can be removed. Over time, the buildings become more tree and more alive.
Ludwig believes his Baubotanik methods can scale to buildings as high as a tree can grow (about 30 meters or 100 feet). “We made some design proposals even for whole streets where all the street trees are fused with the building in this way,” explains Ludwig. “So the people don’t live in a house, they live in a tree. For sure there are some rooms behind there that are traditional in a way, but if you go out of the door you stand in the tree, in the canopy.”
Baubotanik: www.baubotanik.org/en/
360° video of Limmersdorfer Tanzlinde (Germany lime tree dancing):
• 360° - Limmersdorfer T...
Dancing tree footage courtesy of Bayern Tourismus (Bavaria Tourism) www.bayern.by/
Original story: faircompanies.com/videos/baub...

[@linadorey7844]

By putting a façade of tree, the building will be cheaper to cool in the summer. It looks beautiful and that is a way to bring nature in the city. It will eat up the carbon in the air. What a good idea

[@Skoda130]

Maybe first leave out the steel construction then, which emitted carbon.

[@TheLYagAmi]

@@Skoda130 the constitution doesn’t have to be made of steel many Asian countries still use bamboo facades during construction.

[@Originalpolo_]

This is so inspiring! I've been thinking about the symbiosis between architecture and nature for a long time and the progress Baubotanik has made is amazing!

[@sparkyvacdr]

Imagine blending this idea with the Tasmanian Huon Pine. It would need to survive centuries just to grow enough to take shape. But could last thousands of years, and still have the strength of a living up to date organism.

[@patrickkeller2193]

That's how you get Elves.

[@CD-gh4oc]

ALL of these ideas are definitely something I can get behind. Amazing. I even think the elves comment is applicable lol. Most green energy ideas are too radical to make happen without massive changes. This is definitely a good start. Slow changes are the way to do things. Love it

[@etiennejansen3110]

So each time a child is born you can plant a home. After 20 years when your child leaves your home. The home of your child will be fullgrown to. This growing houses is a great idee no morgage needed and the end of homelesnes. 😀

[@MrEazyE357]

You still have to pay for property and then taxes every year.

[@Assfucker0001]

You seem kinda stupid bro. how'd you get that thought process?

[@TheZenDruid_OftheMist]

Just like the exhibits at Disney! This is the future.

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

Unfortunately, you'll still need land (which isn't a problem, except for the cost. There's plenty available). And you'd still need things like insulation and mechanical and electrical. This is definitely something that people can work with that will make houses better, and hopefully more affordable (especially since the trees add shade and coolness, you could save some money on insulation and cooling bills. You might get a benefit on heating as well? Idk).

[@ghgghgyuhkljjijijui]

PLEASE KEEP THIS POSTED FOREVER!!!This shows its so much better to not live OVER or on the environment but WITH a living Nature.

[@cristovaocardoso1316]

I LOVE this concept. I hope more research is done, I'm really eager to learn more. In 1 or 2 years I will start my own experiments.

[@moondomes]

The small bus stop structure toward the end is Genius!! thank you Ludwig, I hope to study with you one day

[@ginamartindale8095]

this is amazing. I never knew you could make trees do that let alone use them as part of a structure like this. great job.

[@mmatih22]

One of the most wonderful, amazing and truly innovative solutions - in terms of adaptation to a new warmer climate. A symbiosis between trees and humans will benefit both, all that great oxygen , and it will be a great passive insulation, especially in the hotter longer summers. It makes me hopeful, beautiful!!!

[@tech9iner]

This is an utterly fascinating concept! Truly enjoyed this video; one step ever closer to aligning with vs removing nature in housing and infrastructure.

[@lisakilmer2667]

If/when they ever figure out how to design an interior for this structure, I hope you will do another video! So far they only have the exterior designed, so it would be great to see a fully fashioned house inside the tree wall.

[@christophermorris481]

Awesome. Keep up the work. Love the channel

[@99rylee]

that's freaking cool. I love how this has turned into a genius way to build.

[@axcvilla]

Suddenly, I can imagine how the elves built Rivendell. Sorry, for random Lord of the Rings thought.

[@mmatih22]

Xaris Villa not sorry; of course Lothlorien springs to mind: 🥰 love it!

[@edwardzweyer9669]

R/unexpectedlordoftherings

[@NinaLaNegraAiLiRox]

😂😂😂😂❤

[@Queen_of_hell_]

They not build it, they grow it.

[@robertspencer5219]

It would be great if they could retrofit some already built buildings to make cities more beautiful.

[@Mark_James_Hill]

this would be easy with a scaffolding like structure outside the wall. that is if there is building space on the property

[@chefgiovanni]

There is no off position on the genius switch.

[@slowfox532]

Fascinating! I would like to live in a house built of living trees. I think, this could be the future way of architecture. Take a look on Singapore, they are planing to become the greenest city in the world by vertical gardening on the surface of all skyscrapers. They don't talk about it, they do it, it's reality today. I am a bit proud as a German to see what this two guys are doing.

[@sherrimcferran3641]

How are Birds and Insects and Bats and Lizards, etc. Reacting to These Structures ?

[@Deliasgubrath]

I really wish you could find time to do a follow up of projects such as this. I'm looking to create a proposal to build a structure in this fashion in Kitchener/Waterloo Ontario.

[@gospelofchange]

I’d also love to see an update. Success or failure would be a learning experience

[@Sheshe675]

Wow this is a concept for the reasons that we need a smaller carbon footprint and how homes and heating can be net-zero with the trees supporting tree canopy and trees for the rest of our lives!

[@bettysman]

I'm a botanist specializing in plant ecology living in Los Angeles with friends in Ludwigsburg. Very interesting on a number of levels. Thanks!

[@sherrimcferran3641]

Where are the Birds ? ... and What are their Reactions to This ? For example, do Multiple Types of Birds Approach the Vicinity of These Structures ? ... or are only Certain Birds (i.e. sparrows and starlings, etc.) Comfortable with These Structures ? ... or do Birds Avoid these Structures ?

[@boomerangsruckflug8513]

Wow, Ihr seid klasse. Ich hoffe, dass diese Konstruktionen überall entstehen dürfen. Sehr schön! Danke.

[@julian5883]

Fascinating! Would love to see this done with Hornbeam or Oak pollards...with coppice Hazel at the base....and the whole thing covered with climbing wisteria/jasmine/honeysuckle etc!

[@DW-ob6km]

Love each of your videos! I learn something new each time. Thank you so much.

[@YalisCommunity]

This is absolutely amazing!!! I wish the whole world would have more living architecture! The benefits are spectacular and it looks beautiful!

[@sassas5761]

wonderful how they think ahead for the future generation 👍👍👍

[@nandodando9695]

This is exactly the detail I was looking for, thankyou.

[@jasonhuntley9927]

Freaking AMAZING! I enjoyed this very much!.

[@ChrisSudlik]

This is a cute curiosity but I feel like there is a lot more potential here. Like designing 10-15 story tall structure with walkways but also some amount of water storage and wicking. Placed correctly near urban streams, you could have ponds on the interior of like a 60-100ft wide circle, an inflow channel carved near the stream spring flood level to fill the ponds, some wicking or solar/wind powered pumping to pull water up into structural elements where it grows the thinner cross members as large trunked base is grown out and layers added, and this done with food trees of various kinds (or sap producing trees like maple, which also have highly water tolerant varieties). The water storage, transpirative cooling, food production could help both with flash flooding and with the urban heat island effect. Design the structure with enough space to not interfere with very large base trunks. You couldn't use them for that many recreational or living spaces but the spaces you'd put these aren't used as is due to flooding. The structure adds strength and water retention to help enable the height and sheer mass of canopy volume. Looking at the city where I live like 200 such super-trees look like they could reduce flooding, provide food, green space, and cooling power. As well as habitat for birds, the ponds acting as good spots for frogs, toads, other insect control, etc. Some back of the envelope calculations suggest a total price tag of ~60 million, but should reduce peak flooding damage to the tune of about ~8 million per year even by 3rd year of life, provide ~2 million in food crops, and the regionalized improvement in air quality and temperature should have some slight improvements in crime, productivity, healthcare costs, but even just focusing on the more direct benefits that's only a handful of years to paydown. I mean this project is an overpriced frame to make an artistic looking tree taking up the space of a tree down the road. But meander points on urban streams tend to like sizes around a hundred foot diameter, the massive connected root system would reduce erosion. A sizeable number of these along with farm bioswales, retention ponds, stepped channels, etc. could ensure greater water retention and transpiration throughout the soaked midwest, resulting in wetter air further west where more rain is needed in the plains, especially as wildfires get worse every year. The interior of the canopy you could plant a wide range of plants like tillandsia that further boost air quality and expand the biodiversity of a closed single tree habitat. Properly done they'd make enormous carbon sinks. Maybe some epiphytic berries to provide a source of food for birds, far above the neighborhood cats. I like the "living room" concept though.

[@ispiseco]

Thanks for sharing! Excellent idea!

[@walterh7325]

This is an awesome concept, love your videos!

[@stormthrush37]

This is so so cool. Imagine all the possibilities! Thanks for sharing.

[@gordonbooth8848]

Brilliant!! Good find. Renewable and sustainable development. The answer to advancement of earthships.

[@retrobebop61]

Very cool! Thanks Kirsten!

[@HiPpYBoAtErS]

I love this idea of a living building, amazing Idea, thanks for finding this amazing place to share with all of us

[@MaggiNimmo]

Thank you Kirsten and team for your dedication to posting interesting, ancient and radical building and architectural applications. This post particularly interested me as I am interested in growing furniture.

[@LucyAliceMoss]

I would be so worried about a disease like dutch elm or ash dieback emerging and killing my house =/

[@andreawisner7358]

InterlockingFish Fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, wars ... all sorts of things can destroy houses.

[@MetalGearMk3]

Make your homes out of hemp, you'll sleep better at night :)

[@lsamoa]

@@andreawisner7358 But they're significantly less likely than tree diseases, which are very common

[@RibbitHopX]

So amazing! I love these structures so much.

[@wiremumason8944]

Hi Kirsten, this one is close to my heart as it is something I discovered from the first editions of Omni Magazine by a Guy who's surname was Wolfgang and his promotion of 'Biotecture'. These guys come pretty close but they miss and important point as do many other artists in this medium, they miss the point that instead of growing structural 'Posts', they could in fact be growing the entire body and enclosing it completely in 5 years as a 'House' by growing multiple saplings along the buildings entire perimeter , rooms included, by grafting as well as 'melding'. It is something I have been wanting to do for over 35 years now and hope to actually get there one day by growing an entire village...Great coverage here and thanks for your shows, really appreciate them...cheers.

[@marianocipriota]

you should try this technique with ficus monckii, here un argentina we have espontaneus buldings forms in the forest with this plant.

[@marianocipriota]

its also known as higueron

[@shelleywallace7875]

This is the most fascinating idea I have ever heard.

[@MaineMotman]

I"ve been fascinated with inoscutation since 2005 during my freshman year taking horticulture and learning about grafting. My questions drove my teacher nuts, now i see the absolute potential in what i knew was possible. I have been obsessed with this fantasy and have only recently been able to begin to experiment with the asspects

[@zarabees2123]

Genius idea. Well done .

[@paultebuseeke3280]

very creative and so unique

[@julieisthatart]

Just love this, it was a childhood dream of mine to live in such a tree shaped into a house and furniture with moss for carpeting.

[@juliejay5436]

A "tree house" all of a sudden has gained a whole new meaning! 😎 Kudos!

[@thebonvivant9027]

wow! Thanks...always a good job!!😘

[@kellymahoney7363]

I was doing this with my cucumber vines this weekend training up a trellis.

[@mowilson5588]

Ingenuity at it's finest! ❤️🌿

[@eileeneclark9011]

6/18/18......Fascinating----2 or 4 trees screwed & then grown/bonded together to become 1 strong functional tree! Germans def have a natural inclination towards science & design.....Attention to detail leads to wonderful/unusual projects/results.

[@epsospremium6088]

Beautiful idea for buildings that are in parks. Like restaurants, parking garages, toilets, and gardening facilities. Would be nice to see on *in every major park !*

[@sagal.h.462]

Cool! I had the same idea. Nice to see it realized! Would love to see a follow up! 😄

[@Shakemouthdirector]

There are a few main reasons for keeping trees away from buildings: 1) foundation issues (roots can push on foundation structures), and 2) the risk of heavy limbs falling on the structure. (There may be others I'm forgetting at the moment; for example, roots disturbing or infiltrating buried pipes and other services, though that can happen even if trees are at a sufficient distance from the structure.) I LOVE this concept, I find it every bit as exciting as the featured architect in the video, and I hope it succeeds; nevertheless I am curious how the architects address/overcome these issues.

[@lorilange8654]

This is so AWESOME!!!!

[@aspenram3885]

Beautiful, healthy and impressive!

[@swikfors]

Great agritecture design we should adopt in Phoenix.

[@lazaromanalo6968]

Very intelligent approach!!

[@tiatemjentzudir4998]

Thank you ...thank you... for such an amazing informative video...

[@grantshort]

I'm a total believer in this. thanks

[@cliffordl.2943]

Really interesting. Great work.

[@fredfrond6148]

Amazing this should work in the Canadian south and the US North.

[@Vladshock]

Truely ingenious, I'd love to build something like this but with fruit trees.

[@mich3134]

This idea is a beautiful idea. It's poetic but even practical. It's just that many people, especially those in my generation I'm sure, do not/will not have the patience to wait on a building technique such as this.

[@kedwa30]

I had that same misunderstanding at first. It is actually held together by the steel until the wood has grown enough to remove the scaffolding, so any building is fully supported from the start and you can use it as soon as assembly is complete. So, say you use it to build a house. You move in and live in the house and twenty five years later all the steel has been removed and it is a solid wood house that could conceivably last a thousand years or more. That's the kind of thing you build so you have a family heirloom to pass on, but you could flip it too. Say you live in it five years then put it on the market. Someone is going to pay top dollar to be able to take it over with five years in already. They will just get more valuable as time goes on especially because people tend to be too impatient to start from scratch.

[@mich3134]

You know this makes sense. Thanks for the perspective

[@RichardStansfield]

awesome idea and one that needs more exploration. certainly would benefit inner city living and working spaces.

[@andrewhobbs2727]

its the future of building,,, love it..

[@louisegogel7973]

Very nice!!!! Shared on my fb page!

[@HollyVanHart]

👍🏼 Thanks, I'll be checking out your other videos too! 💘 🌹 🌟

[@aleksiusbutilkinas1063]

stunning stuff.

[@TheZenDruid_OftheMist]

This would be an amazing place to larp changeling the dreaming/lost or mage the ascension, pure essence of wonder. I'd love to live in such a building.

[@jaguarazul]

Awesome !!😍😍😍

[@MrSyzygyG]

Elven-Architects Ferdinand Ludwig and Daniel Schönle

[@laneyopperman1218]

Brilliant!

[@mematron]

14:40 Yes, now that's how to use the word, "sustaining."

[@robaire35]

Ausgezeichnet. Echt toll.

[@sebastianalegre7148]

I love how the building is literally not finished and it won't take more manpower. Just more time

[@ScottSpecial]

Wow incredible!

[@carolv8450]

Interesting for future homes, businesses.

[@JXZ-JAM]

I'd love to see an update of this project!

[@DennisMoore664]

Building codes need more easily approved exceptions for interesting ideas.

[@TheO5Council]

revolutionary ideas creates revolutionary actions

[@Chakawm]

Great video

[@d3r4g45]

i love this project.

[@The.blessedbee]

super interesting!

[@miangelsai]

I love it !! I am an Architect , applauses !!

[@jennifercoralie9158]

Incredible!!!!!!!

[@luismartinez-ue4fv]

I Fucking loved it!!!!!! it´s perfect I want an entire city built like that.

[@kedwa30]

A floating city on the ocean...

[@pedroandrade2398]

amazing stuff.

[@AnjaliRajadhyaksha]

It's World Environment Day (5th June). So appropriate of you to upload this episode ,👍👍👍

[@MrSnickster]

WoW! Amazing, and most strange architecture I've ever seen. I don't know what to think of it, yet.

[@voidxdonuts]

I dont have any idea of how can we adapt growing houses with Electricity but the aethestic style that it can creat in a garden a Coffee shop or a park will be so amazing.

[@derekwade4042]

Germany finally 😊 Love the idea of building botany

[@purrrrson]

It's a great way to bring trees back to the city.

[@barnabyvonrudal1]

Nice!

[@DanielPodlovics]

This is amazing! I would love to integrated this into the house I eventually live in

[@crlake]

Brilliant.

[@CITYBORNDESERTBRED]

Id love that green living room in my city!

[@zetacon4]

Fantastic blending of biology and mechanical engineering. So peaceful and healthy on the psychy.

[@mzanziman9150]

Wow amazing, id love to see it as a stand alone structure

[@victoriamiskolczy6336]

Mind blown!

[@jadou88]

Very nice episode

[@daviddeane3163]

Using fruit trees and shrubs should be incorporated in the future!

[@masterthotslayer9601]

They die after 7-15 years

[@egregius9314]

@@masterthotslayer9601 Actually that's not true. Fruit trees like apple trees are *replaced* after 7-15 years, because their yield starts diminishing. In Vancouver, Washington for example there's an apple tree almost 200 years old, which is admittedly exceptional. Plane trees grow much older.

[@masterthotslayer9601]

Egregius many fruit trees die after a few yields yes exceptions exist

[@Cortesevasive]

@@masterthotslayer9601 Fruit trees live long as fuck , just dont buy colonial species

[@Baglab_Showcase]

wow... awesome good idea

[@aishwaryamuralidhar8272]

I hope we get to see a follow up on this after a while. I suppose it'll take a couple years but would be nice nontheless.