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Creating Woodland- FORESTARIUM

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture

Master Thesis project

Forestarium project is dedicated to 15th UN Sustainable Development Goal dealing with deforestation worldwide.According to Global Forest Resources Assessment from 2015 from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, we have seen a net loss of forests of 129 million hectares since 1990. An area about the size of South Africa with forest disappeared just in 25 years from our planet. The massive tree felling and disturbance of forest ecosystems leads our world to dam­age our environment that we are not even aware of.

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"Planting a new tree is one of the noblest act of optimism"- The Poetics of Garden (1988), Moore

The main purpose of the project is to educate people about importance of forests through path of experience and allowing them to plant their own forest on the deforastated land. Once the forest is grown (approximately after 8 years) the structure is being dismantled and moved to another location to serve the same purpose.

The primary site for Forestarium is located in Copenhagen. Eventhough Danish afforestation policy is strongly developing since 1989, Forestarium project in Denmark will give an example to deforestated countries of proper forest management and woodland care.

Sydhavnstippen ia artificially made landmass composed by waste. It is located 7km from the city centre and provides an area for new forest plantation.

Forestarium consists of 2 layers of elements:

  • Rooms that are modular and easy to transport

  • Deck in organic shape that creates the loop of exhibition.

Rooms are placed on a geometric form giving the order of the sightseeing. The deck connects the rooms creating irregular spacial path. In the middle point of the site, the plantation of trees is expanding in a circural form resembling the section of a cutted tree.

Like everything changing in the nature, you can visit Forestarium for 8 years. After that, when the land is covered with trees, Forestarium will move to another place in the country and serve the same purpose:
 

to COMMUNICATE

to EXPERIENCE

and to PLANT

In Forestarium you can take a walk through path of experiences and learn about forest ecosystem. Stepping inside 5 rooms dedicated to different topics concerining trees you will aknowledge the big importance of forests and experience 5 different daylight situations appearing in the nature. If you wish for longer stay, you can practice yoga, meditate and relax inside Forestarium rooms.

At the end of the tour you will be given a chance to plant your own tree on the land and leave the mark that will grow for hundreds of years.

There are 5 rooms you wil visit. 

  • Core room

  • Root room

  • Leaf room

  • Water room

  • Seedling room

In each of those rooms sunlight penetrates inside the space in a way to recreate different light atmospheres that appears in the natural forest. Direct light, diffused light, darkness, reflected and refracted light are perforemed by the play of different materials and panels arangement on modular structure. 

“The structure and strict geometry express the logic of the builidng” -Jørn Utzon 

Forestarium modules are based on 2m x 4m cubiclal wooden frames.

Modules are connected by 1m long joinment beams.The beams create angles between modules and allow the structure to be based on a form of circle.

One room consisting of 7 modules can be transported on on truck with a trunk dimension 4,2m x 2m and can be constructed directly on a site.

Depending on the land requirements modules can be also prefabricated offsite and transported on the same truck directly on the site.

Forestarium modules are based on 2m x 4m cubiclal wooden frames.

Modules are connected by 1m long joinment beams.The beams create angles between modules and allow the structure to be based on a form of circle.

One room consisting of 7 modules can be transported on on truck with a trunk dimension 4,2m x 2m and can be constructed directly on a site.

Depending on the land requirements modules can be also prefabricated offsite and transported on the same truck directly on the site.

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