Re(de)fining Decomposition: Entangling the Experiential Lens and Ecological Functions in the Deadwood Management Strategy

Abstract

In a high-density, human-centric urban setting, trees are often considered only as materials to structure spaces. The multiple damages and related causalities caused by fallen street trees in Hong Kong, China contributed to a destructive cultural connotation. Instead of ending up on top of a landfill, fallen trees on the Observatory Hill, an urban forest in Charlottesville, the USA are landing on the ground peacefully, nurturing the microcosm and teeming with new life for the ecosystem. It is a dead bounty and just the beginning of the tree’s life. Inspired by such as opposite experience of encountering fallen trees, this project started by challenging the cultural misconception of deadwood.

As a design project for the first foundation studio of the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Virginia, the proposal aims to redefine decomposition as a joyful process and refine people’s general perception of deadwood through light interventions on the ground. Simple manipulations through landform, material assembly configuration, and visual prompts encourage interactions between people and deadwood. By navigating the amplified wood decomposition setting, a reciprocal relationship will be the productive result, acting as the agency for soil incubation. By experiencing the temporal evolution of decay spatially, one can recognize and embrace the beauty of deadwood.

Keywords

Wood Decomposition / Succession / Soil Incubation / Forest Management / Urban Forestry / Fallen Trees

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