Branch Plant

Founded in 1995, PLANT Architect is an interdisciplinary firm that branches into the domains of architecture, landscape, ecology, furniture, art and graphic design. Synthesizing the insights and expertise of related disciplines, the practice responds to and embraces the increasing complexity of the world and the ambiguity of where landscape, built-form and design intersect. PLANT’s integrated approach fosters a collaborative spirit, a multi-layered design solution and enriches each project with a fine grain of detail.

The firm’s name is dually inspired by a place in which things are made, reflecting an emphasis on process, craft and construction, and by a deep-rooted connection to the environment, to a sense of place, landscape and natural materials.

office pod shed love

The Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven

Using cherry pickers and a complex network of elastic bands so that the tree will grow unimpeded, the sculptural habitat
appears spontaneous but directly reflects the local architectural context
london fieldworks

beautiful book- inside and out

Unless biodiversity is considered early on in the design process, these ever more stringent demands for increased energy efficiency of buildings will lead to losses in the biodiversity that have shared our built environment for centuries - Dr. Carol Williams

window

photo from here

because the earth laughs in flowers

take out flowers/ how to carry flowers in daily life. here

make/break

Karl Maier

prevent hastiness

Imagine a project that does not need to be constructed, because – being a tree - it grows by itself.
Such a project only needs to be planted... The only materials to be transported are the seeds for planting. And the only energy spent is to prevent hastiness and impetuousness as such a project needs a lot of time and patience to grow

A TREE, Bureau of Architecture, Research and Design (BOARD)

i like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so fuckin' heroic (george carlin)

Inspired by the tenacious plants that pioneer the tiny cracks of the urban landscape, the formal rows of this garden create order in the random and mixed planting of herbs, vegetables, strange flowers, and rogue weeds.

CMG, crack garden (a personal favourite)

the minister's treehouse

Seven years ago, Horace Burgess prayed and received divine inspiration. God said unto him "If you build me a treehouse, I’ll see you never run out of material." And so Horace built, and built, and built... from here

overgrown

chrissie macdonald

rooted

The Mapungubwe National Park celebrates the site of an ancient trading civilization in the context of a natural setting. The complex landscape was both the inspiration for the design and the source of the materials for the construction of the new Interpretation Centre, resulting in a composition of structures that are authentically rooted to their location. (peter rich architects)

civilized

photo from here

The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized. (rachel carson)

tree in front of billboard

helmut smits

on fire/in bloom

“ Is it possible for a blaze of flowers to explain what happened on the 14^th of May 1940, without being instantly a historic monument/The Schouwburgplein is an open space from where you can enjoy the skyline. It is the place to get together during the day. Flowers are hereby the finishing touch, the smile.”

Adriaan Geuze

West 8, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2007

soft and wild

In C.A.S.T. lies the micro scale, that of subtle details and elegant materials. Visitors move from natural to man-made, from the nature of Harima's master plan -- soft and "wild" -- to a reformed civic nature to the courtyards of C.A.S.T. and the final stage of design manipulation. There, the distortion of borrowed elements not only makes parts and space singular but also compels visitors to look at their own traditions with a renewed eye.
-PWP, The Centre of Advanced Science and Technology

i hate nature

I hate spiders. I hate earthquakes. I hate genetic diseases and AIDS. Nature is dirty. Birds poop all over my car. Nature causes death. It takes up too much space. It brings ice onto the roads, germs into our living rooms, and water through the windows.

REAL Nature is disconnected from our FANTASY about it: I, like most people, want Nature...functional and in its place.

-Martha Schwartz, I HATE NATURE: An American Cautionary