Arboretum Virtualis | IX
Treehouse
Can you imagine a town – no, a metropolis, in which every residence, school, office, factory and road that is built has to be in, surrounded by or around one or more trees that are significantly and functionally incorporated into the architecture? Imagine that!
Loaded Web
That kind of metropolis is in the planning stages from what I hear. As for towns, I lived in a community embedded in a national park. My apartment was across the street from a huge, dense forest, at the bottom of a steep slope. It was very noisy on summer nights (frogs, crickets, you name it) and in the mornings, I would be greeted by a brand new cobweb covering my door. Amazing experience.
Oh yes, the cobwebs. My wife won’t like that one bit! She hates walking into those just as much as she hates spiders altogether.
I can imagine that another challenge with such a project would be the sharing of the ecosystem with birds that nest in trees. If they come to depend on the tree built into your house, that would expose at least humans to harmful viruses. Some people who live in highrise apartments and condos already experience this when pigeons roost on their balconies. The bird droppings become dry, brittle, airborne and are inhaled by tenants causing a number of diseases.
Ahh… I see. Some rare birds fly around in the forest beside my apartment and people are banned from touching them, even when they’re injured. I am aware of the virus issues and happily, I have been safe, so far. Best wishes.
Imagine that indeed! 🌳🌲🌴🌾
Talk about sustainability; I suspect that sustaining such a city would force most of us to considerably modify nearly everything that we do on a daily basis.
Yes – it would
That would be totally cool! Love your image too. Spooky, but in a good way.
Thank you, Lisa. I couldn’t have pulled this shot off without the thick fog.
Timing is everything
It sure is!
That is quite a wild idea for a town. It would be interesting to have more of them around, man-made architecture and mother nature side by side ever so closely. Maybe we’ll be more inclined to go outdoors since nature is so much closer to us now. Then again, it sounds like a dense kind of metropolis.
I think the average way of living in major cities would be dramatically changed, right down to municipal bylaws and ordinances. It’s a neat fantasy in my head but also a considerable engineering and policy challenge to pull of in reality. That’s not to say it’s impossible to make real because I think it is. It just would be monumentally difficult to put in place and convince the average citizen to participate in its upkeep.
I could..as I know trees are of vital value to the globe.
Yes, I think our species it at a point in our existence in which we should be seriously considering such potential lifestyle changes for our continued survival. We’ve been talking about the necessity for such change for decades now. It may be time to conceive ways of making these advances or adaptations reality.
Wouldn’t that be something. A great place to live.This photo literally glows from this idea. A photo full of mystery and enigma. A beautiful landscape photo.
Thank you, Otto.
Interesting idea
The Swiss Family Robinson on a much grander scale.
It happens. I’ve seen trees which build around because you do not want to chop it down. It may be part of the architecture. But contrary.
Beautiful and mysterious image.
Yes, I’ve seen such houses and playgrounds. I have yet to see virtually every living and working space of an entire city devoted to the concept.
An entire city? It would be too much.
Probably.
Grwat post, Alan. There is some hope, as in many places certain trees are protected. For example, I understand all the Oak trees in New Orleans are that way. Values change though usually our governments follow instead of lead. Imagine what an eco-responsible, forward-looking administration could do. ☺ The more noise we make, the sooner they listen. 😉
True. Either that or nature will find ways of making bigger noise, and if that happens I hope we will be able to survive the transition.
excellent one 🙂
Thank you, Joshi.
A very moody shot.
I was hoping for aesthetics that seem more mythical or magical.
That would be an ideal world for me. I love this low key. Very inspirational photography, Allan!
I think I could get used to it too.
What deep thoughts running through our brains you put us through, Allan. 😀 The light addition made this your best in the series yet.
Thank you very much, Rommel. Much appreciated.
I wish!
🙂