'ATREE?' Grows On You In DREAM Competition

ATREE? by the Bureau of Architecture, Research, and Design (BOARD), based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, was chosen as a finalist in the upcoming European Competition of Architecture, Design, Realisations in Eco and Agro-Materals (DREAM).  ATREE? will be one of 22 entries in the finals, and this first image suggests it will 'take a village' to grow it.

 ATREE? image from the proposal: ©BOARD via bustler.net

ATREE? is a project that doesn't have to be 'constructed,' so it is very energy efficient.  It just takes seeds to plant, so there is little transportation needed.  Also, the architects and workers do not have to waste energy being impatient, because trees grow at their own speed.

Nevertheless, BOARD has designed some interesting tree molds to help ATREE? along, to create a special installation that can be used as an exhibition space or for other events.  The molds, made of castor plant vegetal oil, can be shaped to mold the tree into different shapes while it's growing.

BOARD even suggests, as you will see in the ATREE? 'evolution' below, that the molds be biked to the ATREE? site to conserve energy,

ATREE (The Evolution): ©BOARD via bustler.net

 ATREE? (suggestions for various mold shapes): ©BOARD via bustler.net

An example of what ATREE? might look like using a few bioplastic molds to help shape it.

ATREE? molded into shape by bioplastic tools.: ©BOARD via bustler.net

ATREE? from the DREAM exhibit in the Chantilly Castle in France: ©BOARD

BOARD provides a variety of examples, in more idyllic fashion, of how a final installation might look...

 ATREE? from above: ©BOARD via bustler.net

ATREE?: ©BOARD via bustler.net

ATREE?: ©BOARD via bustler.net

BOARD suggests in its proposal that once the installation is no longer used, the trees can be used as a renewable energy source, as the proposed willow trees have a great carbon mitigation potential.  The molds can be completely recycles and used for tubes, wire, or electronic components.

In ATREE?, BOARD creates an installation for personal interaction, even among strangers. A circular formation encourages visitors to roam among the trees, even into and under each tree.  

BOARD, Bustler.net