Tel-Aviv aeroponics lab introduces Eco-Furniture Tel-Aviv aeroponics lab introduces Eco-Furniture

Tel-Aviv aeroponics lab introduces Eco-Furniture
Posted by Deepa in Environment, Featured Articles on 10 2nd, 2008 | no responses

Professors Yoav Waisel and Amram Eshel from the University of Tel-Aviv discovered, along with their collaborative research partner Plantware, a specific species of trees that when grown in air, rather than soil and water, retain a soft root structure.

The lab, conducted at the Sarah Racine Root Research Laboratory at TAU concluded that these “soft root” Ficus trees can be transferred from an aeroponic lab into a field site, and upon being grounded in soil, the roots will begin to lignify, or harden and grow thick. These conclusions were the first milestone in the eco-architecture effort. TAU now houses the first aeroponics lab fit for commercial mass production and processing of these trees.

Inspired by the increasing interest in green innovations for the consumer TAU and Plantware have jointly published a coordinated business plan to begin mass production of various arborsculpture commodities into the commercial world. Emphasizing the natural strength of these trees, they proposed a variety of eco-architectural structures that may be put on display in parks, school playgrounds, places of public congregation or even the household.

Among the proposals targeting individual consumer interest in eco-furniture were such ideas as street lamps, gates and umbrella stands. The joint companies have released ambitious proposals to manufacture children’s playgrounds or “kinder forests,” which are highlighted for their lack of pollution, resistance to natural disasters, and for embracing, rather than disrupting the natural habitat of wildlife. The most recent proposal is one for complete homes made of Ficus trees; CEO of Plantware Gordon Glazer expects the first prototypes of these long lasting homes to be ready within a decade. Eco-architects advocate that with a prospective lifespan of over 700 years, these sturdy arbor-structures are 100% rendered from Mother Nature are the future of green architecture.

Discussion questions: Do “living homes” have a shot at being the new face of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings?

http://www.livescience.com/environment/080828-living-architecture.html
http://www.plantware.org/index.html

Photo credit: Dr. Mitchell Joachim, Terreform 1.