idA’s Greenhouse Botanical Garden Grueningen is a Parametrically Designed Artificial Forest in Switzerland

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/green-walled-living-pavilion-garden-sprouts-on-governors-island/" target="_blank">pavilion</a> in Switzerland's Grueningen Botanical Garden was parametrically designed to relate to its context and the surrounding landscape. Zürich-based architecture firm <a href="http://idA Buerher Wuest Architekten" target="_blank">idA Buerher Wuest Architekten</a> developed the 180 square meter structure using Voronoi tessellation to mimic the configuration of a real forest.

The parametrically designed pavilion is organized similar to natural cell division.

Using the Voronoi diagram, which illustrates organization and spatiality of crystals and cell growth, the architects have determined the overall geometry of the membrane according to the position of the “trunks”.

Four steel trunks carry the main load of the entire structure.

Around five meter-long branches provide support for the glass ceiling.

The secondary glass layer encloses the greenhouse and allows for the optimal amount of sunlight to reach the interior.

With its thin steel structure and forest-like configuration, the pavilion becomes integrated with its surroundings- like a natural extension of the beautiful Swiss landscape.