Tree buildings

A new trend in urban design has it that wood is the new concrete. Architects are now experimenting and building skyscrapers using timber in London, Paris, Vancouver, and Vienna, to name a few. So buildings are the new trees.
Wood has a long history in construction. From houses and boats, to temples and pagodas, wood-building techniques and traditions can be found across the world, from northern Europe to Latin America, and East and South-East Asia.
On the one hand, wood is a natural resource close at hand to people’s surrounding environment – or at least it used to be. On the other, it is both aesthetically appealing and more in tune with nature than, say, concrete and steel, which constitute the bulk of our cityscapes, so that human beings may feel more attracted to their organic quality.
Considering wood’s carbon-sequestering feature, timber buildings would actually be a welcome addition to car-jammed, densely urbanized Macau, except that tropical weather is not to their advantage here.
Although sharp engineering has made fire-resistant wood a possibility in the large-scale construction enterprise, namely for high-rises, humidity is an often merciless, conspicuous force hard to fight here. It does not even spare concrete from slow though steady deterioration.
For this reason, wood architecture seems a distant alternative for being integrated into Macau’s building landscape. With notable exceptions, as the shipyards in Coloane – which stand as an example of the ways negligence and minimal maintenance can harm a fragile wood site – wood is not remarkably present in the cityscape. So what more feasible option for cleaner air and, arguably, a more liveable city could be afforded here? More trees.
Vegetation and materials more connected to nature are increasingly said to have a positive effect on people’s emotional attachment to a place and their overall physical and mental well-being. There are several signs of that attraction to greenery both in large and small-scale settings in Macau. On the one hand, gardens such as Camoes, which are carefully taken care of, though arguably too few, remain popular venues in the city. On the other hand, vegetation spread over balconies, offices, and private spaces suggests that people are continuously seeking engagement with nature, producing their own green spaces. Why not harness this inclination under a larger plan for a greener Macau?