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Floradrain / The physical system

Mobile urban trees / research concept

Grünes Gastspiel

Independent research by Nick Kuprin / NICK555

Grünes Gastspiel brings young trees into urban spaces before their permanent planting. Our physical prototype explores a Floradrain wall with a separate, full-height ZinCo Filter Sheet SF cylinder.

01 / Profiled wall

Floradrain around a tree

The first two photographs show the profiled Floradrain shell around an existing tree. They introduce the wall itself before the separate filter interface.

A tree surrounded by the physical Floradrain cylinder
Photo 1. Tree and Floradrain wall.
Close view of the Floradrain cylinder and growing medium
Photo 2. Close view of the profiled wall.

02 / Separate interfaces

The shell opens.
The root-zone cylinder remains.

The full-height Filter Sheet SF cylinder retains the growing medium while the Floradrain shell opens. This makes the wall and filter accessible for separate inspection.

The Floradrain wall opened around an intact geotextile cylinder holding the tree and growing medium
Photo 3. Opened physical prototype with the geotextile cylinder exposed.

03 / Assembled prototype

Floradrain + Filter Sheet SF

The filter separates the growing medium from the profiled wall. These photographs show the assembled result, with the filter edge visible just inside the upper rim.

Assembled Floradrain and Filter Sheet SF cylinder around the tree
Photo 4. Assembled prototype.
A closer view of the assembled Floradrain wall with the pale geotextile rim
Photo 5. Wall and filter at the upper edge.

Research exchange

Observations from real urban conditions

We would welcome an exchange of experience with the Grünes Gastspiel team. Environmental and substrate measurements could help us compare observations and refine the research questions for the root interface.

Research topics include air root pruning, moisture conditions along the wall and drainage. The photographs document construction and assembly.

Grünes Gastspiel / Stadt Zürich
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