Baubotanik is a term that describes a building method in which architectural structures are created through the interaction of technical joints and plant growth. The term entails the practice of designing and building living structures using ''living plants''. In this regard, living and non-living elements are intertwined in such a way that they grow together into plant-technical composite structures. The Baubotanik method combines the aesthetic and ecological qualities of living trees with the static functions and structural requirements of buildings, thereby reducing the need for artificial building materials. The structures provide valuable habitats for a variety of animal species and make conventional foundations redundant, due to their root anchorage. The use of Baubotanik is not a new invention and can be found in various historical and cultural contexts, such as the ''Tanzlinden'' (“dancing lime”) tree in Germany and

living root bridge A living root bridge is a type of simple suspension bridge formed of living plant roots by tree shaping. They are common in the southern part of the Indian state of Meghalaya. They are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees (''Fic ...

in North-East India. Common in the Indian state of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and Jai ...

and grown by the

Khasi Khasi may refer to: * Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India * Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India * Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India See also * Khasi Hills * G ...

and Jaintia, the bridges consist of the aerial roots of rubber fig trees (

Ficus elastica ''Ficus elastica'', the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become n ...

) and are grown over rivers to form walkable bridges. While the process can take fifteen years to complete, the bridges can be reinforced with natural materials and can withstand the strongest tropical storms. Furthermore, since the turn of the millennium, ‘willow churches’ (made of willow rods and lacking a fixed roof) have been constructed on various former garden show grounds, yet provide only limited functionality as buildings.

Research

An early publication in this field of study was the article ''Baubotanik: Mit lebenden Pflanzen konstruieren'' (translating to “Baubotanik: Designing with Living Plants) by Ferdinand Ludwig in 2005 in the magazine Baumeister. The term “Baubotanik” was defined in 2007 at the Institute of Theory of Architecture and Design (Institut für Grundlagen moderner Architektur und Entwerfen) at the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wi ...

, where its concept was scientifically further developed. Within the scope of the research, simple experimental buildings were constructed, such as a footbridge and a Baubotanik tower that illustrated the possibilities of creating larger Baubotanik structures by adding individual plants. Moreover, a two-story bird-watching station was planted in the town of

Waldkirchen Waldkirchen is the biggest town in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Germany. History Mentioned for the first time in 1203, it soon became an important trading place along the "Goldener Steig" (Golden Path), a salt-trading route between Bav ...

as part of the Bavarian State Horticultural Show 2007. Subsequently, a three-story plane tree cube was created for the Baden-Württemberg State Horticultural Show 2012 in Nagold. Since 2017, the Baubotanik field of research has been based at the Professorship for Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

.“Baubotanik.” Baubotanik - Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture, Technical University of Munich, www.ar.tum.de/en/gtla/research/baubotanik/

Literature

* Middleton, Wilfrid & Habibi, Amin & Shankar, Sanjeev & Ludwig, Ferdinand. (2020). Characterizing Regenerative Aspects of Living Root Bridges. Sustainability. 12. 10.3390/su12083267
Open access article link
* Well, Friederike & Ludwig, Ferdinand. (2020). Blue-green architecture: A case study analysis considering the synergetic effects of water and vegetation. 9. 191–202. 10.1016/j.foar.2019.11.001
Open access article link
* Ludwig, Ferdinand & Middleton, Wilfrid & Gallenmüller, Friederike & Rogers, Patrick & Speck, Thomas. (2019). Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective. Scientific Reports. 9. 10.1038/s41598-019-48652-w
Open access article link
* Ludwig, Ferdinand & Schönle, Daniel & Vees, Ute. (2016). Baubotanik - Building Architecture with Nature. International Online Journal Biotope City
PDF download and open access article link
* Ludwig, Ferdinand & Mihaylov, Boyan & Schwinn, Tobias. (2013). Emergent Timber: A tool for designing the growth process of Baubotanik structure
PDF download and open access article link

External links

* Ferdinand Ludwig, ''TEDxTUM''
Designing living buildings with trees
* Faculty of Architecture,

GTLA research
(Professorship of Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture) * ''Baubotanik shapes living tree branches into building facades
Youtube video: Kirsten Dirksen
* ''Baubotanik: Ein Hybrid von Natur und Technik'
Youtube video: EGGER Group
* ''ArchDaily: Baubotanik - The Botanically Inspired Design System That Creates Living Buildings'
ArchDaily
* ''Grow Your Own Building with Baubotanik Architecture'

References

{{reflist, 1 Sustainable architecture Buildings and structures Architectural design Sustainable building Environmental engineering Trees