
Young German architects are designing structures made out of living trees - robg
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,636716,00.html
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tocomment
I've always hoped we could do this with genetic engineering someday. Make a
really fast growing tree that grows hollow inside with a couple rooms.

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biohacker42
There's only so fast anything sun powered will grow. I doubt we'll ever be
able to engineer anything which grows faster then bamboo.

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tocomment
Well how fast is bamboo? I could wait a decade or two for for a house,
especially if all I had to do was plant a seed.

Also perhaps we could grow it in a CO2 filled tent to speed it up. That's
assuming C02 is a limiting factor in plant growth.

Or perhaps it could grow a frame really fast, and then fill in the walls and
keep making them thicker over time. So you can start living in your "tree
house" with membrane thin walls and they will thicken over time to become
wood.

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simonb
Accordig to Wikipedia:

"Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on Earth; it has been measured surging
skyward as fast as 121 cm (47.6 inches) in a 24-hour period,[6] and can also
reach maximal growth rate exceeding one meter (39 inches) per hour for short
periods of time. [...] bamboos grow to full height and girth in a single
growing season of 3-4 months. During this first year the young shoots strike
skyward supported by photosynthesis from the rest of the clump with no time to
sprout their own branches and leaves. Over the next year the pulpy wall of
each culm slowly dries and hardens, sprouting branches and leaves during the
second year from juvenile sheathes that form from each node. Over the
following year the culm hardens still further shedding its juvenile sheaths
and commencing its life as a fully mature culm. Over the next 2-5 years
depending on species, fungus and mould begin to form on the outside of the
culm, eventually penetrating and overcoming the culm so that by around 5 - 8
years depending on species and climate the culms begin to collapse and decay.
This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in
construction from 3 - 7 years."

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo#Growth>

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thomasfl
Why do it sit here and program all day, when I really would be an architect
instead?

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danw
Because becoming an architect takes years of education and training. You have
to fight and juggle the demands of clients, planners, neighbours and the
occupants. It's expensive. It's slow. Most architects don't get to build
anything significant until their late 40s or 50s. You're very likely to lose
your job every time there's a recession.

With software you can make whatever you want, right now.

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bitwize
Jurai?

