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Plant and earn: a new approach to urban tree preservation
CategoriesSustainable News

Plant and earn: a new approach to urban tree preservation

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The population of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is set to reach 2 million by 2028. As the population rises, urban sprawl is threatening the forested, mountainous areas outside the city. Around 70 per cent of Freetown’s trees have been cut down, and the city is already experiencing negative effects – such as devastating floods and landslides – from the loss of these critical ecosystems.

To reverse this trend, the city council has introduced a scheme, called Freetown the Treetown, which encourages residents to plant and maintain new trees and mangroves, using seedlings supplied through local nurseries. Progress is tracked using a mobile app, and, as an incentive, the initiative pays city residents for each tree they plant, maintain, and monitor.

The mobile platform creates a unique geotagged record for each planted tree. Growers must then revisit the tree regularly to water and maintain it, and to verify and document its survival. In exchange, they receive per-tree micro-payments through the platform every two months over the first three to five years of the tree’s life (which is when trees need most maintenance).

To finance the programme, each tree is ‘tokenised’ and the tokens are sold to corporations and institutions to help them meet their climate and corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets. The money raised then goes to maintaining the programme. Freetown the Treetown is a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist in the ‘Protect and Restore Nature’ category.

Tree planting is an important tool for reducing the impact of climate change. Some recent innovations in forestry that could help with this include providing indigenous communities with funding for forest stewardship and improving tree health by restoring fungal networks.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

studio MEMM fronts tree house in brazil with playful solar shading
CategoriesArchitecture

studio MEMM fronts tree house in brazil with playful solar shading

By Zarkon Group,

‘tree house’ by studio MEMM, a multigenerational hub

 

On a sloping land in Monte Verde, Brazil, Studio MEMM has completed a tree house as a multigenerational wooden hub connected by a walkway. Covering 18 sqm, the project ‘emerged as a playful idea. In a moment of family expansion, with new grandchildren and nephews, the client understood that the ludic universe of the tree house could add to the experience of staying in Monte Verde, Minas Gerais,’ explains the practice.

 

The design is located close to the main residence and features two volumes positioned among tree branches, emphasizing the sense of playfulness. The first and smaller module spanning 6 sqm serves as a reception area. In comparison, the second 12 sqm volume functions as the primary activity hub, initially displaced to accommodate a torsion of trunks that change position as they gain height. Two walkways support these structures: the first and smaller pathway connects both modules while the second, larger one gently regulates the terrain slope and links the tree house to the main property promenade.

studio MEMM fronts two-volume tree house in brazil with solar shading inspired by leaves
all images © Nelson Kon

 

 

‘Before conceiving the project, it was necessary to choose the tree and understand its context. The client already had in mind options in an area near the lake on the site. Around it, programs such as a pool annex, a deck, a natural pool, and the new house would fence the surroundings of the body of water. The garden, densely populated by numerous tree species, brings privacy and ambiance to each program around the wetland area. In addition, a gentle, continuous slope extends across the land so that the lake’s surroundings are arranged in gentle plateaus,‘ shares the Studio MEMM team. 

studio MEMM fronts two-volume tree house in brazil with solar shading inspired by leaves

 

 

using glass, brise-soleils, and light for a deeper immersion 

 

All façades of the ‘Treee House’ are clad in glass panels, encouraging a strong visual connection to the outdoors. Bordering the panels are aluminum frames that attach the glass to the façades; thanks to their dark graphite finish, these frames stand out from the wooden structure and emphasize the limit between solid and void. They also contribute to the water drainage on rainy days, preventing puddles from accumulating in the lower parts of the frame and eventually deteriorating the wood. 

studio MEMM fronts two-volume tree house in brazil with solar shading inspired by leaves
a two-volume structure connected by a walkway

 

 

Inspired by the geometries of the surrounding sycamore leaf structures, Studio MEMM fronted the two-volume shed with a CNC-milled brise-soleil, industrially built with glued laminated timber.  Installed from the inside, this architectural element ‘embraces the guest and creates an impression of a dome that contains this entire universe in the interiors, instigating immersion and disconnection from the external world, transporting the user to a shelter that allows them to experience a feeling of unrecognizable enchantment,’ continues the team. 

studio MEMM fronts two-volume tree house in brazil with solar shading inspired by leaves
the brise-soleils evoke the geometry of sycamore leaves

 

 

Lastly, the lighting design by Futura Iluminação highlights both the unique aesthetic and sculptural branches engulfing the ‘Tree House’ without undermining the charm of night-time darkness. ‘The light spots placed on the ground level reveal the trunks and tree tops. The softly lit branches and leaves filter the dark sky above. Inside, light fixtures on the floor illuminate the brise soleil from bottom to top, bringing light, instead of shadow, to the lower part of the geometries. The solution emphasizes the view of the inside from the outside of the house and contributes to the discovery effect of the element in the heights,’ says Studio MEMM. 

studio MEMM fronts two-volume tree house in brazil with solar shading inspired by leaves

 

Reference

Cun Panda designs escape room with tree at its centre
CategoriesInterior Design

Cun Panda designs escape room with tree at its centre

By Zarkon Group,

Chinese studio Cun Panda has created a flexible space for immersive game company Qian Hu Zhi Wu in Xiamen, China, that features a silver-foil-clad tree, acrylic seats and mirror installations.

The local game company runs 14 escape rooms in China. Cun Panda’s design for its latest space measures 330 square metres and was designed with a focus on flexibility to enable a number of gaming narrations to take place.

“We aim to create a space that can tell stories,” the studio said. “The design injects extraordinary imagination and creativity into the space that integrates art and immersive experience.”

Entrance exhibition space at Qian Hu Zhi Wu, Xiamen
A series of rock-like formations surround the central tree installation

At the entrance of the space, a giant tree made of resin and covered in silver foil stretches through the ceiling to form the centre piece of the space. Added light installations were designed to look like satellites and planets circling the tree, giving the piece a futuristic feel.

The tree is surrounded by a series of rock-like formations, which were informed by Stonehenge.

“Stonehenge is taken as the prototype to open the interlaced space leading to the new world and build a dimension door of virtual and real,” explained the studio.

Resin tree covered in silver foil
Light installations have been added to the silver tree

The rock-like sculptures in the space have round holes to create clear sightlines inside the escape room, where the lit-up floor is the main light source and creates a variation of shadows.

Next to the entrance space, a narrow corridor connects the game room with a storage room, dressing room, and makeup areas. Stripes of lights and a mirrors installation on the wall and ceiling were designed to create an infinite sense of space.

Waiting area at Qian Hu Zhi Wu, Xiamen
Green moss and black sand add a sense of nature inside a white room

In another room, sand-dune shaped seats are supported by transparent acrylic to create a floating effect, revealing green moss and black sand in the otherwise completely white space.

Here, another tree breaks through the wall into the space and connects to the main tree installation. The white wall is lit up by LED lights and printed with shapes of sand dunes.

Corridor at Qian Hu Zhi Wu, Xiamen
Stripes of lights and mirrors create a visual illusion

Cun Panda was founded by Xuanna Cai and Jiacheng Lin in 2019 and has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Xiamen.

Other recent interiors from China include timber and travertine reading room by Atelier Tao+C and Fatface Coffee shop by Baicai, both shortlisted in this year’s Dezeen Awards.

The photography is by Xinghao Liu.

Reference