It sounds like a crazy idea, but if scientists from US and Israel have their way, Cinderella of the next-gen will be doing her chores in a ecological home grown from tree roots. The ingenious ‘tree-homes’ use advanced techniques of airoponics, where plants are grown without soil. If you don’t believe this story then just stick around for another decade, because that’s when the first prototype of this house will be ready. Plantware, who already have dabbled in creating bus-shelters, park benches and traffic lights from their unique growing techniques, is backing the project. Get a load of this; the house will be constructed from actual tree roots to any design specification and come equipped with a host of eco-friendly features such as solar panels and wind harvesting fans. The self-sufficient abodes would draw their energy from clean energy sources and recycle human waste into valuable nutrients for the living trees.

‘The concept behind Plantware stems from my ground breaking research at the University of Tel Aviv which yielded incredible results with tree roots that do not harden and become rigid but remain supple without breaking when they bend,’ Plantware chief Gordon Glaze said.
‘The key to my discovery was my research in the area of airoponics, which is like hydroponics where plant life is grown without soil.’
The ultimate aim is to build a house out of our trees from scratch. You can expect to have reduced heating bills, because when the deciduous trees leaves fall away, homes will have more heat. And in the in the summer, the leaves will provide shade and shelter.
The first of the tree homes will come pretty steep but a few committed environmentalists will probably get them cheaper.

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Topics: Building Tags: on September 17, 2008

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