TREES, TIME, ARCHITECTURE!
Design in Constant Transformation.
Trees are among the largest, oldest, and most complex living organisms on Earth, and they also grow exceptionally slowly – often taking decades or even centuries to reach their full size. This means they exceed human lifespans, and their temporality is at odds with the ever-accelerating pace of social, technological, and ecological change. At the same time, we need trees now more than ever to help solve the problem of climate change. With their large canopies, trees significantly reduce temperatures in urban heat islands and maintain the quality of life for a growing urban population through shade and evaporation. However, trees are also increasingly becoming victims of climate change, threatened by drought, storms, hail, and the spread of new diseases.
‘Trees, Time, Architecture!’ explores the potential and contradictions of ‘building on trees’ in architecture and landscape architecture. For the first time, an exhibition project addresses the topic area of trees, time, and architecture from a holistic, multidimensional perspective. Concrete project examples from diverse cultural contexts and climatic zones demonstrate the need for a fundamental paradigm shift: moving away from designing finished objects and towards designing processes to foster a fruitful and sustainable relationship between trees and buildings.
The exhibition aims to highlight this fascinating relationship, for only then can we see the possibilities and seize the opportunities to create a future worth living for ourselves and most animal and plant species. This requires transdisciplinary collaborations that combine scientific approaches, artistic practices, indigenous knowledge, and new technologies. The research, prototypes, and experiments of the ‘Baubotanik’ research area at the Technical University of Munich, among others, illustrate what this could resemble.
Project Management/Curatorial Direction:
Ferdinand Ludwig, Kristina Pujkilović
Co-Curation:
Andjelka Badnjar Gojnić
Project Coordination:
Andres Lepik
Scientific-Curatorial Advisory Board:
Noël van Dooren, Sonja Dümpelmann
Graphic Design:
strobo B M
Exhibition Design:
Buero Kofink Schels
Publication:
Exhibition catalogue featuring architectural case studies, research approaches, essays, conversations, and photographs. Trees, Time, Architecture! Design in Constant Transformation. A book edited by Andjelka Badnjar Gojnić, Kristina Pujkilović, Ferdinand Ludwig, and Andres Lepik, published by Park Books, Zurich (German ISBN 9783038604242, English ISBN 9783038604310).
Illegal-Trees Tour
Photo Index:
Image 1:
Groupe Scolaire, Cornebarrieu, France
Duncan Lewis Space Architecture, 2014
Image 2:
Living bridge of the Khasi People, India
© TUM
Photo: Ferdinand Ludwig, 2019
Image 3:
Arbor Kitchen, Neue Kunst am Ried, Germany, 2022
© TUM
Photo: Kristina Pujkilovic, 2022
Image 4:
Naturale, Main Corridor – North, 2013
Photo: Ilkka Halso, 2013
Image 5:
Close-up of a Baubotanik fusion
© TUM
Photo: Cira Moro, 2010
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