Baubotanik is an architectural method in which living trees and technical structural elements grow together to form a plant-technical whole. In this approach, individual plants are fused with one another, technical components are integrated into the plant structure, and over time, a self-supporting organism emerges. The aim is to make natural growth processes part of the design, combining ecological functions with structural features in the same construction.

^{Example of Baubotanik (flickr)}

Origin of the Concept

The term Baubotanik was conceptually defined in 2007 within the Institut Grundlagen moderner Architektur (IGMA) at the University of Stuttgart and institutionalized as a research field at the same time. This approach aimed to make plant growth an active component of architectural design. Since 2017, the concept has been continued within an expanding research network under the Chair of Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture at the Technical University of Munich, and has been further developed through interdisciplinary projects.

Historical Examples

Even before its modern conceptualization, the idea of Baubotanik had been exemplified by living structures in different geographies and periods. In the Meghalaya region of India, the Khasi people have been building living bridges for centuries by guiding the roots of rubber trees to span large distances, creating structures with high load-bearing capacity. In Europe, the so-called Tanzlinden (“dance linden trees”) are examples where the branches of lime trees were gradually terraced to form social spaces.

Technical Methods

The fundamental principle in the creation of Baubotanik structures is directing the growth processes of living plants with technical elements to form a structural and spatial whole. One of the key methods for this is inosculation—the natural process where the trunks and branches of plants fuse over time to create a single tissue structure. This process is accelerated by arranging and guiding numerous young plants in a specific order.

Another fundamental method is the plant addition technique. In this method, hundreds of young saplings are placed in special containers, supported by temporary scaffolding, and cultivated to grow together as a single “hyper-organism.” In the early stages, each plant is individually watered and fertilized; over time, they develop their own root systems, becoming an autonomous mechanism that nourishes the entire structure. Throughout the process, steel tubes, mesh systems, and temporary scaffolds guide plant growth; in later years, these technical components are either fully integrated into the structure or disappear as they lose their function. Through these methods, structures can be achieved at the intended scale within a short time, while in the long term, self-supporting and sustainable living structures develop.

^{A Baubotanik Example Made from Plane Trees (flickr)}

Featured Projects

Baubotanik Footbridge (2005): An experimental bridge near Stuttgart, realized by Ludwig, Storz, and Hackenbracht, was constructed with supports made of 64 vertical and 16 diagonal bundles of willow trees. The structure carried a 22-meter-long walking platform made of a steel grid. Within a short time, it leafed out and transformed into a dense green façade. Over time, the trunks thickened, fused with the stainless-steel handrail, and the load-bearing capacity of the structure increased along with the growth process.

Plane Tree Cube Nagold: A cubic structure with an outer shell composed of plane trees joined end-to-end, symbolizing the blurring of boundaries between the city and nature. Beyond defining space, it also functions as a shading device, oxygen producer, and microclimate regulator.

Baubotanik Pavilion (Neue Kunst am Ried, 2021): Built in an area surrounded by 32 London plane trees, the pavilion integrated a steel space-frame roof developed using parametric design and photogrammetry into the trees. Over time, the branches are expected to envelop the steel elements and assume a load-bearing role. The project also stood out as an educational studio work, contributing to students’ experience in computational design and process-based architecture.