The Plantware idea competition was decreed for anyone who dreams of shaping trees. Its goal is to stimulate the creative
minds of the global community into weaving designs that, when realized, would bring trees into our lives in a way that would
be beneficial for us and the environment.
Submitted designs will not be eligible to win unless they are applicable. Submissions are possible till XXXXXX the winners will
be announced on XXXXX.The winner of the competition will receive XXXX
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When submitting a plantware idea for the competition, consider the following:
1. You start the design with a small shrub trailed by six meters of thin root
(1mm thick). It is this root which can be shaped into the desired design
simply by setting it on a template (a temporary structure) which supports it
until it can stand for itself.
2. Planting of the root tip (the last 10 cm) in a solid medium induces
thickening of the rest of the tree. That is, the part of the root set on the
template (above the ground) will not change its shape in any way other than
thickening. Thickening will continue along the entire surface of the above-
ground parts of the tree for as long as it remains alive.
3. Shaped roots will never extend branches or leaves. You can count on them
retaining the shape in which they were set and on becoming evenly thick for
their entire length.
4. Inanimate solids such as metal or stone can be incorporated into the
design. Trees will grow around, and eventually engulf such solids that are
supposedly inhibiting their growth, but until they do so the solid can play an
active part in the function of the entire design.
5. When thickening, parts of trees that try to occupy the same space – will
merge. Merging can occur between parts of the same tree, or between parts
of different individual trees. Merging does not harm the trees, but with regards
to thickening, the merged trees begin to behave as one, that is, they will
continue to thicken anywhere that the surface of the merged shape is
exposed (to the air).
6. Short circuiting – please bear in mind that for the entire life of the living
design there is a constant flow of materials (mainly water going up and sugar
coming down but also hormones and metabolites) through the shaped
structure. Merging in a way that allows flowing materials to choose between
two routes that extend between the same places (same start and end point)
will cause short circuiting. Short circuiting means that the flowing materials
will more often choose the shorter route. This will leave the longer route with
less metabolic material, which will cause it to thicken more slowly than the
shorter route.
7. Strangling – trees trying to thicken through a belt (that is there for support
or decoration) will cease to thicken and die. This can be avoided if a small
break is left in the belt. If a break is left, the thickening tree will either open the
belt or, if the belt material is too rigid, continue thickening by radiating out of
the break.
8. When the initial root is bent into straight or sharp angles, the resulting
corner will be rounded. This is due to the fact that the tree roots you are
shaping are, geometrically speaking, long and thin cylinders. They thicken
outwards by enlarging the cylinder radius.
9. You may use as many trees as necessary to achieve the desired design.
Creating a design with one trunk and many roots is possible simply by
placing the young trunks in close proximity and waiting for them to merge into
one.
10. The extent to which the trees can grow is constrained by the amount of
solid medium available to their underground roots. If you plan to design a
plantware structure that is large and long lasting, but planted in pots make
sure that the pots are large.
11. Plantware is suitable for creating small indoor designs. You do not have
to use the entire six meters of trailing root in your design. Any excess root can
be cut off before setting the tree on its template. Alternatively, the excess
length of the root can be placed in the ground or pot instead of being
ncorporated into the design. Plantware trees can thrive in indoor living
conditions.
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| Questions as to specifics can be emailed to us or posted on the Plantware Forum and they will be answered by our experts |
