Update

Scoop at Ghent University: first tree of prototype Building Biospheres equipped with sensors

In the run-up to the Biennale Architettura 2025 in Venice, the team of Bas Smets together with researchers of the Ghent University are working on a prototype of the installation for the Belgian pavilion; Building Biospheres. In a greenhouse on the Campus Coupure, they are experimenting with innovative climate control for buildings.

Building Biospheres, Bureau Bas Smets © Michiel De Cleene

Building Biospheres prototype

The test stand is part of the Building Biospheres project, the Belgian entry for the 2025 architecture biennale in Venice. The prototype includes 250 carefully selected plants and trees, chosen by Bas Smets and Erik De Waele. The design team of landscape architect Bas Smets and the team of professor Kathy Steppe placed these trees and plants in a greenhouse at the Faculty of Bioengineering earlier this month.The greenhouse serves as a test environment for innovative climate control in buildings.

"Our proposal is very experimental. That is why we are first fine-tuning the installation with 250 plants in a greenhouse in the Laboratory of Plant Ecology of the Faculty of Bioengineering."

‐ Bas Smets, curator Building Biospheres

Building Biospheres, Bureau Bas Smets & UGent (image: Michiel De Cleene)

Sensors measure ‘heartbeat’ of trees

This week, professor Kathy Steppe, an expert in plant ecophysiology and sensor technology at the GhentUniversity, and her team reached an important milestone: the installation of the first sap flow sensor and dendrometer on the prototype's central tree. These sensors, developed in her Laboratory of Plant Ecology and essential within the TreeWatch project, measure sap flow and stem diameter variations in real time, capturing the ‘heartbeat’ of the trees.

"Our TreeWatch sensors literally give trees a voice in architecture. Building Biospheres seeks a paradigm shift in how we can integrate nature in regulating indoor climates."

‐ Kathy Steppe, expert in plant ecophysiology and sensor technology Ghent University

Test case for Venice

The data collected will be used for the first time to demonstrate how trees and plants can contribute to a pleasant and sustainable indoor climate. This innovative approach will be further developed in the coming months by Professor Steppe and Dirk De Pauw of Plant AnalytiX. This research constitutes a crucial step towards the integration of living nature in sustainable architecture, as conceived by Bas Smets, and which will eventually be shown in the Belgian pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Published on 4 December 2024

Practical

PRODUCER:
Flanders Architecture Institute
CURATOR:
Bureau Bas Smets
RESEARCH:
Ghent University, Faculty of Bioengineering
TREES AND PLANTS SUPPLIED BY:
Arbor Nurseries
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Michiel De Cleene

Building Biospheres - Biennale Architettura 2025

From 10 May to 23 November 2025, the Flanders Architecture Institute and Bureau Bas Smets i.c.w. Stefano Mancuso will present the Building Biospheres project at the 19th Biennale Architettura in Venice.