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Live Architecture — Grow Your Own Home

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the make-like-a-tree-and-get-outta-here dept.

Ostracus writes to share a new take on the word "treehouse." Engineers and plant scientists from Tel Aviv have taken the application of tree shaping to the next level, designing everything from streetlamps to houses. "A home built from trees, the researchers said, would be a natural storm protector. 'After earthquakes and after tsunamis the only structures that still survive are trees,' said Yaniv Naftaly, director of operations at Plantware, a company founded in 2002. Naftaly told LiveScience the same sturdiness should apply to tree-made homes. Eshel and TAU colleague Yoav Waisel are working with Plantware to commercialize the leafy designs. The team found that certain tree species grown aeroponically (in air instead of soil and water) have roots that don't harden. Once the malleable, so-called soft roots grow long enough in the lab, they are molded around metal frames in the shape of a playground or park bench."

6 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. A plug for my favorite author by chthon · · Score: 2, Informative

    Jack Vance : "The Houses of Iszm" and "Slaves of the Klau". Both feature grown houses.

  2. From the article by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 3, Informative

    The image used in that article looks to be the same that was used in a similar article about houses made from shaped trees in Popular Science a few years back. It really is a neat concept as wood is a fairly good insulator. As long as you have a good water supply, good soil, and a community that is liberal enough to allow such structures, it looks like a good alternative to houses made from chemically treated wood.

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    1. Re:From the article by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 3, Informative

      Do you really think it's impossible considering our current practices of obtaining wood? Many houses are built from pine wood grown on government subsidized pine tree farms that take 20+ years to grow before they are able to be harvested. The same can be done with houses grown from trees on farms. It would take a powerful act to get a system such as that created for growing houses, but considering the current paradigm shift towards using energy efficient materials and the current energy crisis, I don't consider farming houses out of the question. It seems a lot more realistic than shooting mirrors into space to slow global warming.

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  3. Hobbits?! by NeuroManson · · Score: 2, Informative

    FTA: "Tolkien's hobbits would feel right at home in new dwellings made out of living tree roots and designed to protect inhabitants from earthquakes."

    Wut? I'm no expert in Tolkein, but don't hobbits live underground?

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    1. Re:Hobbits?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Not quite;

      "Some Hobbits live in "hobbit-holes", which were the original places where they dwelt underground. They were found in hillsides, downs, and banks. By the late Third Age, they were replaced by brick and wood houses, however, some older style Hobbit-holes are still in use by more established Shirefolk, such as Bag End and Great Smials."

  4. Re:Perfect for my great grand children... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    There are plenty of trees that grow stupendously fast. For example, willow - 6-12 feet per year, Empress Tree - 10-15 feet per year, poplar - 8-10 feet per year, and plenty of others.

    http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/FastestTrees.htm

    While other trees, like Sequoias, have been known to get to nearly 100 feet in under 15 years. Can we say treescraper?

    On the other hand, I do not think I would try to use Snowbed Willow for this, although it may be effective for covering up those unwanted doggie poos.