By Stefan Mostert
Like jungles our cities started only as small collections of life and over time evolved into the great metropolises they are today. Their structures are also similar. Below is the vibrant ‘forest floor’ from where buildings grow tall and push into the sky like trees. But there is no canopy and our ‘trees’ are leafless.
Now is the time for the next evolutionary cycle for the cities on planet earth. A canopy above that transforms the existing urban mass into a three dimensional web of life and movement.
We propose The Foliage.
The Foliage uses existing buildings to create a new place above. It is made from lightweight, prefabricated and suspended timber structures. From the existing building rooftops branch-like bridges pushes horizontally to form places where people can live and play. A pedestrian only ‘skyurban’ network is formed consisting of homes, pathways, parks, community gardens, basic commercial services and meditation pods.
Wood is used for two of its best characteristics; light weight and tensile strength. Suspending a light and tensile-strong material like wood allows us to build ‘higher’ and further with more density. We only build what we need and allow The Foliage to grow naturally. The design is versatile and can be adapted to use in any city.
All we need are buildings. Let’s start growing.
