LIANAS TRELLIS

THE IDEA

Long before ecological concerns took centre stage, architects like Conrad Roland in the 1970s were already focusing on greening nets and spatial structures. This idea was forgotten for a long time. Due to the changed attitude towards nature and the recognition of the cooling effect of plants, it is our wish to bring this idea back into focus and open it up for artistic design.

THE PROJECT

The project combines experience in designing and artistically integrating spatial structures with the desire to bring more plants and greenery into the city. Especially in places where, due to spatial constraints such as paved areas, roofs, or parking lots, street trees require a long time to provide shading and contribute to improved microclimates.

The goal of this project is to motivate as many planners, students, and architects as possible to be part of a movement.

NEW INTERPRETATION OF TRELLIS

Traditionally, such structures are used to shade paths and thus serve a clear functional purpose. These are the overgrown park paths and facades where individual plant strands climb up steel cables instead of growing wildly in three-dimensional directions.

In the structures we envision, plants should be able to grow in all directions. Trees and climbing plants compete with each other. In the long run, the climbing plant will overgrow the tree. The advantage of the fast growth of climbing plants is evident in the structures. A large green spatial volume is created after only two to three years.
Flowering, evergreen, and colourful foliage plants can be combined.

SPATIAL STRUCTURES

Three-dimensional structures can form chaotically through ropes or rods intersecting in space. Polyhedron structures are used when systematically filling space. The most well-known of these are the five platonic elements: tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron.

Only the last three elements can be stacked seamlessly in space and fulfil another criterion for fully filled spaces. The choice of material is not limited. Both rigid materials like wood, steel or plastics and flexible materials like rope, chains or straps can be used for this purpose.