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| dc.contributor.author | Kulawinska, Agata | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-01T20:17:34Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-05-01T20:17:34Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-05-01 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10429/2559 | |
| dc.description | The everyday hustle and bustle can get exhausting and unbearable. Everyone likes to take a break occasionally and jog, walk the dog, or take a romantic stroll in the nearby park. There is a tendency to escape the average, gray, dull reality and hide amidst luscious tree branches. No wonder. The presence of nature generally enhances people's experiences and health. Therewithal, cities become denser and denser, and consequently, there are not enough verdurous urban spaces. Vertical urban forestry emerged as a possible solution to the problem. It juggled the framing concepts of forestry, urban design, and welfare very well. Moreover, trees provide countless benefits in the urban context, such as the heat island effect, noise, and pollution reduction. They retain water, provide shading, increase plot market values, improve mental health, and decrease gun violence and vandalism. Furthermore, vertical urban forestry has already proved to thrive in various building typologies, such as multifamily residential, single-family housing, parking, and more. Stefano Boeri Architectural Studio's work provided one take on vertical urban forestry. They incorporate hundreds of trees and smaller plants into buildings by planting them in cantilevered balconies-pots. There is an undeniable beauty in the straightforwardness of this idea. Nonetheless, a fresher take on the subject has emerged in recent years. Designers from the Office for Living Architecture claimed that with their innovative technique – Baubotanik – it was possible to grow buildings' elevations from living trees. Over time, as trees grow and fuse (or inosculate), they take over the structural support function of the scaffolding to the point that it can be removed. The Office for Living Architecture defined Baubotanik as "a form of architecture in which structures are created through the interaction of natural plant growth and technical joining methods." The thesis investigation attempted to explore vertical forestry in the urban context and the strategies that could support the design of a high-quality urban interior/corridor. The end product of the study was the Vertical Urban Forestry Manifestos, supporting effective vertical urban forestry design alongside an exemplary case study design solution – Replanning/Replanting Żelazna. Sublime designs have already been carried out regarding vertical urban forestry, and immense resources are available if one knows where to look for them. However, the knowledge and legacy mentioned above are dispersed and unarranged, somewhat unavailable to the general public. The pushing need to systematize the knowledge on the subject and make it more accessible and available sparked the composition of the Vertical Urban Forestry Manifestos and the creation of an Instagram account - @vertical.urban.forestry. They both try to suggest accurate solutions and draw attention to the subjects and issues in need of consideration pre-green-design instead of preparing a list of architectural dos and don'ts. The body of work included mixed methodology work, both deductive and inductive reasoning. Firstly, the benefits and limitations of vertical urban forestry were determined in the form of diagrams to demonstrate the scientific data proving the advantages of vertical urban forestry, as well as the awareness that it has some limitations, and learn how to improve it to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Secondly, research on high-quality urban interior design was done to record the characteristics of higher-quality and lower-quality urban interiors. Later, the existing and future strategies for incorporating urban forestry into architecture were explored in depth. The above included data-driven mapping, photography, and diagramming of Bosco Verticale; vertical urban forestry typology search/exploration; and living joints drawings and models. Additionally, several smaller experiments, such as diagramming arboriculture and urban silviculture strategies or data-driven mapping of sites worldwide, were carried out. Finally, the Vertical Urban Forestry Manifestos were written as a composition of findings from the previous methods, and an exemplary case study design - Replanning/Replanting Żelazna was executed. Plenty of vertical urban forestry limitations make it hard to execute the more visionary designs at this moment in time. Firstly, this branch of architecture is highly constrained by tree growth limits. Secondly, although strategies and technologies are constantly being developed, planting trees all over buildings' elevations is still extortionate. It is also dangerous – the field is too young to have developed regulations in building codes. Not to mention that trees are heavy - it isn't easy to foresee their development and growth patterns, and they need excessive amounts of underground space to grow roots, so they endanger the structural stability of the structures. Lastly, urban forestry could be executed horizontally; why do it vertically and deal with the above problems? One of the more significant limitations of the study was that the formed Vertical Urban Forestry Manifestos could only serve as an information resource. The field of research studied was/is still in its infancy, and it will take plenty of time and patience to develop it enough for it to become commonly recognized and thus regulated. Another critique of the Vertical Urban Forestry Manifestos is that they weren't directed at any particular audience, neither highly educated architects/landscape architects, nor municipalities, nor everymen. The lack of specified recipients made the language choice vague in some cases and idiosyncratic in others. However, the overall goal of the piece was to spark interest in the subject rather than explain every single bit of information extremely exhaustively. Moreover, the case study design proposal - Replanning/Replanting Żelazna was only conceptual and visionary, having considered the price of the net result. Nevertheless, vertical urban forestry is irrecusably a significant and highly promising architectural branch under constant development. In the future, once the price, weight, and regulatory problems are solved, it will be, beyond controversy, a go-to urban design solution. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | The general focus of the thesis investigation was the pushing need for richer urban tree canopy, as well as the possible solutions for tackling the lack of it. Various studies have proven that trees are a significant part of the urban tissue. However, the growing population, rising land prices, and developing climate change require a push for improvement in both the quality and quantity of arborescent architectural design. The research developed in the thesis investigation explored vertical forestry in the urban context along with the silviculture strategies that could further the design of high-quality urban interiors/corridors. The end product of the thesis investigation is the Vertical Urban Forestry Manifesto, which supports effective (not only) vertical urban forestry design alongside an exemplary case study design solution – Replanning/Replanting Żelazna, as well as an Instagram account - @vertical.urban.forestry. The mixed methodology work included data-driven mapping, architectural models, architectural drawings, diagramming, and photography. The thesis investigation shed light on an innovative understanding of urban interiors and corridors as bearing not only circulation but also city enhancement function. Moreover, it further proved the significance of forestry and silviculture in urban design. Vertical urban forestry is under constant development, ranging from different types of research to multiple design attempts. This investigation evidenced the innovative, crucial, theoretical aspects, attempting to popularize the knowledge and present them as the future standard of urban design practice. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.subject | urban forestry | en_US |
| dc.subject | vertical forest | en_US |
| dc.subject | urban planning | en_US |
| dc.subject | urban design | en_US |
| dc.subject | greenery | en_US |
| dc.title | Vertical Urban Forestry | en_US |
| dc.title.alternative | Bringing the Forest Back to the City | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
