Minnesota Zoo Tiger Lair: Drawing inspiration from a previous WholeTrees arboretum, we are once again teaming with the Architects at Damon Farber to create this shelter for tiger viewing at MN Zoo. It will incorporate a cantilever roof, large branching columns, and steel guy wires to give it a modern and industrial, yet natural look. This will definitely be a favorite spot.
Design: Damon Farber & WholeTrees
GC: Minnesota Zoo
Engineer: Engineering Ventrues
National Gateway:This stunning courtyard will include 14 branching decorative trees that will reach 20' high. We're excited to be providing these beautiful trees while working closely with the Architects and Landscape Architects to ensure a biophilic, serene finished environment. Check back for progress updates
Architect: Landworks-Studio
GC: Paradigm Contractors
Production
Houston Zoo: 8 trellises and 48 structural columns are being produced for the upcoming Houston Zoo Pantanal.
Architect: Studio Hanson Roberts & Brave Architecture
Engineer: Engineering Ventures
EOR: MLA Engineering
GC: Tellepsen
Lakeridge Middle School: White oak columns site-sourced from the school grounds are bring fabricated by our regional partners. The first two have been installed and the rest will go in later this fall.
Architect: Mahlum Architects
GC: Skanska
Engineer: KPFF
Pokagon Moon Pavilion: Naturally bent white oaks bring beauty and nature to this gathering space outside the new Tribal Peacemaking Center for the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi.
Architect: Seven Generations A+E
GC: CSM Group
Engineer: Engineering Ventures
Pokagon Sun Shade: Round timber columns and beams intersect with curved glulam beams creating a warm and dynamic entry space for the new Tribal Peacemaking Center for the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi.
Architect: Seven Generations A+E
GC: CSM Group
Engineer: Engineering Ventures
Blackhawk Church: A single decorative tree inside the Blackhawk church will be situated in the middle of a bench seating area.
Design: Interior Logic
GC: Newcomb Construction
Pokagon Moon Pavilion: Naturally bent white oaks bring beauty and nature to this gathering space outside the new Tribal Peacemaking Center for the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi.
Architect: Seven Generations A+E
GC: CSM Group
Engineer: Engineering Ventures
Pokagon Sun Shade: Round timber columns and beams intersect with curved glulam beams creating a warm and dynamic entry space for the new Tribal Peacemaking Center for the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi.
Architect: Seven Generations A+E
GC: CSM Group
Engineer: Engineering Ventures
Finish Shots
Blakely Elementary: School is back in session! As autumn brings vibrant colors and bare branches outside, these structural round timber columns provide warmth, shelter, stability, and beautiful biophilia.
Architect: Mithun
GC: Forma
Engineer: Lund Opsahl
Undisclosed Technology Company:A confidential technology company in Mountain View, California has partnered with WholeTrees to work with trees on its campus. Taking full advantage of our inventory platform, WholeTrees has cataloged the structural and aesthetic properties of 45 year-old redwoods that needed to be removed. We choreographed harvest with regional tree-service company, BrightView, and are overseeing artisanal custom millwork. The digital inventory of these trees will soon be available for the company's architects nation-wide. This is a first-of-its-kind pilot, capturing data for future re-use of trees removed from well-managed campuses and timber stands.
Converse Park Pit Stop: Converse Park is an example of early WholeTrees nature-play. A visionary landscape architect at McKay Nurseries in Waterloo, WI contacted WholeTrees in 2012 with plans for a truly unique natural playscape in Marshall, Wisconsin's Converse Park. WholeTrees pre-fabricated and installed this sculpture-turned-climber with its net-ladders, round nest, balance beam bridge, monkey rings, and slide. The timber for this project was selected from WholeTrees' 134 acre FSC forest near La Crosse, WI. Staff revisited Converse Park this September for a little playtime on our road ride to the Trek Headquarters.
Tree Huggers: On the job site, at the zoo, event at conferences, people love to hug trees. WholeTrees shares this same love across the country with structural, decorative, and play elements.
AZA 2019: The AZA Annual Conference in New Orleans was a great opportunity to meet with colleagues and discuss the intersections of conservation, sustinable design, education, and animal welfare. While in the Big Easy, we took time to climb the biggest tree we could find and see some amazing live music.
AICAE 2019: WholeTrees works to spread understanding of collaboration and biophilic desing. For tribal communities, these concepts are nothing new, they are how you have lived for as long as you have walked these lands. WholeTrees is honored to be accepted into the broader community and share our tools and experiences collaborating with Seven Generations Architecture + Engineering to enable more people to share in the benefits.
Current Events in the Wood World and WholeTrees in the News
WholeTrees Technology: Check out this overview of how WholeTrees brings natural materials and technology together to empower the architects, engineers, and anyone else looking to make changes in the built environment.
International Living Future Institute's Trim Tab: WholeTrees works to bring expertise from different trades together to change the built environment and create a healthy and resilient future for all. In the International Living Future Institute's latest Trim Tab, we discuss how our collaborative process and use of technology enable biophilic design with site-sourced trees.