Arquitectura sembrada. Atlas de encuentros entre vegetación y arquitectura

Resumen

This thesis is the result of research into encounters between the world of plants and construction. Its focus is on those meetings in which the parties involved must reach agreements in order to cohabit successfully. It proposes an itinerary which identifies and evaluates these meetings between the two worlds, combinations which are both delicate and susceptible to deterioration since they may jeopardize the survival of the flora or the support which sustains it. The contact between the two is inevitably one of conflict because vegetation is a living element, in a process of growth, while edification is, by contrast, static. The tree can die if it does not have the necessary conditions for life; ruins are the consequence of depredation by climate and vegetation. In principle, flora and construction are mortal enemies. They must form an alliance if they are to cohabit and survive. All these encounters have one circumstance in common: it is not possible to impose the methods of gardening upon edification, nor vice versa; they are cases in which cohabitation and proximity produce deformity, and give rise to new forms. All of these examples comprise the itinerary that this thesis describes. In it are set forth cases arranged in order to create a story rich in references and thus provide a more complete view of the subject. You could say that these cases make up a small universe with planets that support each other, or that are grouped to form 11 families, and these points are presented below. Point [1] simulate examines the possibilities of pruning as a tool with which to form architectural elements. We consider the wall, the corridor, the enclosure and the empty space created by cutting back the vegetation, or by cutting the tips of bushes. Those in point [2] upholster are vertical walls that, depending on the support that sustains the plants or trees, produce surfaces of different densities of flowers and leaves, like tapestries or wall-hangings. Point [3] shade corresponds to horizontal facings, such as the pergola or trellis, the awning that protects from the sun, or a canopy of flowers, vines or figs. Point [4] to corse, is for the enveloped path, with the desired section covered with a creeper, a vegetal covering that can reproduce the form that sustains it or, slightly detaching itself from it, act like a cloak, perhaps of camouflage. Both might be seen as corseted vegetal dresses. Point [5] clear out, examines a particular case, studying how the Sun King's festivities in Versailles took over the vegetation to create scenarios and backdrops, by trimming back forests so as to empty areas and form new spaces. In point [6] support are the trees which, by placing one on top of the other, with mechanized grafting techniques, produce plant buildings. They are born and then begin to create vertical organic surrounds and, as they grow, they assume the weight of the support that has held them during their development, this support becoming partly removed in the process. Point [7] hold shows the appropriation of the tree to be climbed upon or used as support. In point [8] include the buildings contain pre-existing trees or, at least, part of them. On the other hand, in point [9] engage, we can only include the few proposals that generate tiny courtyards, narrow corridors, residual patches of earth that are used for planting. Point [10] display is for the homes of plants: greenhouses. Finally, in point [11] stack, vegetation leaves the ground and climbs the building with its roots and sustenance. When the trees are placed on the framework they come to form part of the construction. The cases here selected and shown can be grouped into three families or systems. The families described can be used as points of access that lead back to one of the initial premises of the project: building with vegetation through manipulation, preserving pre-existing vegetation or proposing artifacts that connect the natural and the artificial world.