Material: Tree bark
Functions: Cooling overheated cities
Application: As wallpaper or a facade material
How could tree bark be used in the future? To answer this question, the co-speculators in this group each shared their personal perspectives as a pensioner, artist, ethnologist, and tree lover.
Their idea was to use tree bark as a sustainable material for wallpaper and building facades. Their prototype shows us such a »tree house« from a possible future. It is clear from the house’s round shape that it was inspired by a tree. Many different windows are integrated into the bark facade to ensure good air circulation. The bark’s cooling effect is also intended to lower the indoor temperature and in general make life more comfortable for all living beings in hot inner cities.
»We had a lot of ideas. In the beginning, it was insulation for houses. Then it was packaging material. But we thought it would be a shame if tree bark was just thrown away after use.«
»We discussed the fact that pine trees also grow in tropical and subtropical areas and that they show great heat resistance in these regions because the bark partially protects the trees from high temperatures and fire. This is also a big problem in cities – that we have very extreme heat trends. So we thought bark as a natural raw material could help us protect cities from heat.«