Trees, Time, Architecture! makes the case that living trees are not a decorative gesture but a structural and climatic instrument — one with deep historical roots and urgent contemporary relevance to how cities adapt to the Anthropocene.
About This Book
Published to accompany a major exhibition at the Architekturmuseum der TUM in Munich, this volume assembles an unusually wide-ranging set of perspectives on living plant construction: historical, cultural, ecological, and speculative. The contributors look beyond the pragmatics of urban greening to consider trees as organisms with a temporal dimension that architecture must reckon with — constantly growing, changing, and demanding a different kind of design thinking. From the root bridges of the Khasi people in India to Nordic cosmological mythology to the use of living trees in the Roman Empire, the book builds a genuinely transdisciplinary argument for rethinking the relationship between people, trees, and the built environment.
Key Features
- 128 pages of essays, photographs, memoirs, film reviews, and design research on living plant architecture
- Authors include Andjelka Badnjar Gojnic, Kristina Pujkilovic, Ferdinand Ludwig, and Andres Lepik
- Case studies include the root bridges of the Khasi people in India and architectural uses of living trees in the Roman Empire
- Published by Park Books, 2025
What You'll Discover
- How living plant construction functions as a climate adaptation tool for contemporary cities, not merely an aesthetic strategy
- Ancient precedents for living tree architecture — from Khasi root bridges in India to Roman imperial use — that reframe the practice as a long-standing human tradition
- How trees, as constantly changing organisms, challenge architecture's assumption of permanence and demand a temporal dimension in design thinking
- A transdisciplinary field of inquiry spanning urban politics, feminism, modernism, and cultural values as they intersect with trees and the built environment
About the Author
The volume is authored by Andjelka Badnjar Gojnic, Kristina Pujkilovic, Ferdinand Ludwig, and Andres Lepik, bringing together expertise across architectural research, design theory, and curatorial practice. The book accompanies the exhibition Trees, Time, Architecture! Design in Constant Transformation at the Architekturmuseum der TUM, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, running 13 March to 14 September 2025.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 128
- Dimensions: 23 x 32 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783038604310
- Publisher: Park Books
- Publication Date: 2025
Perfect For: Architects, urban designers, landscape practitioners, and researchers working at the intersection of ecology, climate adaptation, and the built environment