Posted on 10/24/2016
We tend to think of architecture as fixed and unyielding, but what if it didn't have to be? One Italian artist, who has since passed on, explored the possibilities of living architecture with the astonishing Cattedrale Vegetale, a living, breathing cathedral made out of growing trees. The project takes the traditional cathedral and brings it down to earth - literally - as an ever-changing, constantly evolving space.
Italian artist Giuliano Mauri, who passed in 2009, came up with the original tree cathedral concept. This latest manifestation is the second of its kind in Italy and was created by Mauri’s son, who has continued the artistic tradition. The cathedral was created using a framework that encloses hornbeam trees, causing them to grow in a very specific, planned way. Eventuall...