FLORA

FLORA is a scientific research facility built with wood from sustainable forest management of the surrounding forest, which allows a researcher to live and work in the forest canopy. The design is a solid wood structure located in Valldaura, in the central forest of the metropolitan area of Barcelona: the Collserola Natural Park. More than 8.5 meters high, the project was built with pine trees from sustainable forest management of the surrounding forest, following a rigorous wood traceability process. Seventy trees were cut and processed to create cross-laminated timber panels, laminated beams and solid wood elements. FLORA will be used to briefly house a researcher to study the park’s biodiversity and use FLORA’s new weather station. From its construction to its final use, the FLORA project is based on the «zero kilometer» philosophy. The main construction material is wood, obtained from the environment itself, without the need for a supply chain. The Collserola Park forest is made up of a wide variety of trees and plants that require sustainable management actions to allow the forest and the biodiversity it houses to develop efficiently. The CLT core rests on four 30 x 30 cm glued laminated wood pillars. The bridges are made of glued laminated wood; the longest of them measures about 12 meters. All of these components were manufactured individually and assembled with a crane in a complicated installation sequence. The CLT structure is protected by two layers of natural cork panels that provide thermal and acoustic insulation. The netting that wraps around the building, inspired by hunters’ nests, was designed digitally and woven by hand. The aim is to better camouflage the project by allowing the plants to spread over it. In this way, the structure would be able to blend even more with the forest to hide it from the surrounding fauna. FLORA allows a scientist to reside inside for a short period of time to study local biodiversity and observe how the effects of climate change are influencing the natural park. By housing an ornithological radio, birdhouses, work and projection space, as well as bird watching spaces, the project seeks immersion within nature and the creation of an interactive ecological prototype.