Experience Thrilling Heights with Treetop Biking Adventure

Italian design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with Office for Living Architecture (OLA) and non-profit organization GAL Terre del Po, has unveiled an innovative project that explores sustainable mobility while integrating natural and artificial elements. The Tree Path is an elevated bicycle route that spans the Italian countryside, connecting the VENTO Cycle Route to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sabbioneta via Casalmaggiore. The pathway is set to incorporate one thousand trees that will be used as ever-evolving architectural elements that transform the path structure over time.

The Tree Path rises to six meters above the ground and is made up of three different levels that bypass road traffic and waterways. The pathway incorporates digital sensors that track environmental conditions in real time, including air pollution levels and the growth status of individual trees. The project envisions using an artificial intelligence system provided by the Mendicity Urban Intelligence platform to facilitate the communication and response of all living organisms along the path to changing environmental conditions or structural loads.

CRA and OLA, one of the world’s leading experts in Baubotanik (botanic construction), collaborated closely to create the Tree Path. The pathway is designed to rest on two parallel rows of plants that act as pillars, while trees grow around a stainless steel handrail. This design element will allow the pathway to evolve over time as the plants grow and the trees transform into a central element of the structure.

Carlo Ratti, founding partner at CRA, and director of the Senseable City Lab at MIT commented on the project, saying: “What if one day we could grow architecture like a tree? We are still very far from that future, but we can start exploring the convergence between the natural and the artificial. We can use trees as elements of construction while leveraging the data from digital technologies to get a better understanding of the surrounding environment.”

The Tree Path is set to be a major step towards achieving sustainable mobility while also promoting environmental awareness. By offering people the opportunity to cycle or walk amidst the treetops, the pathway will enable them to connect with nature while enjoying a unique transportation experience. The project's use of an "Internet of trees" will also allow for a deeper understanding of the natural world and promote a more conscious relationship with the environment.

CRA has been investigating the convergence between the natural and the artificial through projects of varying scales. In 2021, the studio completed The Greenary, a private residence in the province of Parma, Italy that centres around a ten-meter-tall tree at the house's core. In the field of mobility, CRA developed future scenarios for New Deal Paris, a speculative vision that would transform the main highways around the French capital through the large-scale adoption of autonomous vehicles and other forms of shared mobility. The office has also been drafting a comprehensive plan for sustainable mobility for the city of Prishtina as part of the Urban Study commissioned by Manifesta 14, the Biennale of contemporary art and culture opening in Kosovo in July 2022.