Living Infrastructure
& Technology
How biology, structural engineering, and telecommunications converge to create a certified living telecommunications infrastructure, engineered for formal appraisal under Ghana's existing regulatory frameworks.
Tree Shaping and Validating
Aeroponic Cultivation
Aeroponics suspends plant roots in a misted air environment, delivering oxygenated nutrient solutions directly to the root zone. This method produces seedlings 3–5× faster than soil cultivation, with 95% less water usage. Our Vancouver facility uses closed-loop aeroponic chambers optimized for African Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis), African Teak (Milicia excelsa), and Makore (Tieghemella heckelii), species selected for their structural density, tensile strength, and load-bearing capacity.
Bio-Structural Shaping (Arborsculpture)
Guided growth (arborsculpture) directs juvenile saplings into load-bearing forms using non-invasive frames and inosculation (a process where two touching branches naturally fuse into a single structural element). Over the first year, trees are shaped into tripod, lattice, or column forms capable of supporting telecom payloads of 200–500 kg at heights of 15–30 m. Wood density in primary tropical species exceeds 700 kg/m³, rivalling structural steel in compressive strength per unit weight.
Finite Element Method (FEM) Voxelation
Each living tower is digitally scanned via LiDAR* and decomposed into thousands of voxels (3D cubic units). FEM analysis calculates stress distribution, wind load deflection, and resonance frequency at each voxel, producing a structural certification model equivalent to engineer-stamped steel drawings. This allows regulators to certify living towers under Ghana's existing telecommunications infrastructure codes.*LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing technology that uses rapid laser pulses to measure precise distances and build highly accurate, three-dimensional models of real-world environments.
The Authority on Plant Biomechanics
Despite the fact that it would seem that load-bearing calculations in living trees require a different set of rules compared to man-made structures, it actually isn't. The laws of physics do not discriminate between biological and synthetic materials. Whether a structure is composed of steel beams or lignified cellulose, it is subject to the same fundamental forces of gravity, wind load, and torque. The primary difference lies not in the rules of physics, but in the complexity and variability of the material itself.
Figure G1
"Plant Biomechanics: An Engineering Approach to Plant Form and Function" by Karl J. Niklas - the foundational text for understanding the structural engineering of living systems.
Key Authority
The definitive resource on this subject is Karl J. Niklas, a Professor of Plant Biology at Cornell University. His work provides the essential bridge between botany and structural engineering, proving that plants can-and should-be analyzed as engineering structures.
In his seminal book, "Plant Biomechanics: An Engineering Approach to Plant Form and Function," Niklas rigorously details how standard engineering formulas apply to plant biology. He outlines how trees solve mechanical problems-such as supporting their own weight and withstanding wind drag-using the same principles found in civil engineering.
Telecom Integration
At the tree apex (15–30 m), a weatherproof equipment enclosure houses Remote Radio Units (RRUs), Baseband Units (BBUs), sector antenna panels (4G LTE / 5G NR), and microwave backhaul dishes. The 8 km lattice spacing ensures full 4G coverage overlap and 5G small-cell readiness. Power is delivered via buried cable or on-site solar with battery backup - no diesel generators required.
The Living Network
Securing Telecommunications Equipment to Living Trees
We strive to promote new methods by which we do not fell a tree to erect a tower. Saving the work, the building materials, and their transport gives us a superior result to building towers at lower costs. Below we explain how we do this without injuring or damaging the tree or the ecosystem. We can do this while maintaining structural integrity by exploiting the fact that tree trunks that are adjacent to hard inanimate objects grow, following a geometry called engulfment.
Engulfment- can be described as the process by which a growing tree progressively grows around an object that is in contact with it, eventually embedding that object within the trunk. The tree does not consume the object; the object remains in place while new wood develops around it. Growth does not simply displace an object outward. As the tree grows, new tissue progressively surrounds the support hardware, until it becomes embedded within (or engulfed within) the trunk.
Engulfment
A tree thickens by adding new tissue beneath its bark. In engulfment, this growth meets fixed metal and develops around it. The metal stays in place while new wood surrounds it. The change is too slow to watch directly; time-lapse photography can make it visible. For an intuitive picture, we observe a river flowing around a bridge pillar; the water (in the illustration is highlighted in orange as it) meets the pillar, splits into 2 streams, which rejoin downstream (immediately after the pillar).
Each stage of water flow is paired with the corresponding stage of new wood growing around the metal. The similarity (between the way the wood grows and the flow of water in the river) is in the shape and progression around the obstacle. Water flows in the river; in the tree, new tissue forms…
To be more precise, let’s imagine a heavy metal soldier fixed to the bottom of an experimental channel. An advancing (mini-) flood meets its (the metal soldier’s) legs, rises, splits around them, and rejoins beyond them. This brings us closer to engulfment an advancing front develops around a fixed obstacle.
Geometrically, liquid water flowing around a pillar are the same as that of wood, growing around a hard inanimate object are the same, except that the interaction with wood and the object occurs over many years, whereas with water it occurs over a fraction of a second.
Compared to us, wood is immobile, hard, and unyielding. That's why we use it and the way it grows to firmly grasp the chassis to which we attach telecommunications equipment according to this method. To hasten the wood’s hold on our apparatus, we attach thin wires to the thicker metal pieces and weld them together, so that it is all one connected object.
Below, we zoom in on the mesh and point out to the reader that between the wires of the mesh are wires of a finer mesh (which are completely engulfed first).
The finer mesh has two functions:
- To be engulfed quickly because it is thinner, while staying connected to the thicker wires of the mesh, thereby holding everything in place (earlier than would have been the case in its absence).
- By virtue of its geometry (as well as its chemical and atomic structure) the fine mesh provides shielding from magnetic radiation (what is called in physics a ‘Faraday cage’).
Tower Construction: The Living System Model
For those who wish to pursue tower construction while preserving sustainability and ecosystem services, the living system model dramatically reduces costs. While traditional towers begin at $100,000, a living system tower is capped at a maximum of $65,000.
This is because the majority of the tower's mass does not need to be brought on site. Instead, it is sequestered from the air as photosynthesis occurs - trees integrated into the construct absorb CO₂ and convert it into cellulose and lignin, creating the strong wooden matrix that structurally supports the tower.
Implementation & Operational Strategy
Immediate negotiations for communications technology housing within these towers are crucial for timely project execution. Contracts for the rental of communications cages can begin immediately upon project commencement. Towers will become operational gradually, starting from one year after project initiation up to seven years after, as trees mature and equipment is installed progressively across the national lattice.
Vancouver Aeroponic Facility
Guaranteed Supply Management
The aeroponic growth facility will be built in Vancouver and managed by Mendel Skulski, an expert who has successfully constructed similar systems. Skulski brings hands-on experience from co-constructing the aeroponic chamber at New York Navy Yards and served as former president of the Vancouver Mycological Society. This facility ensures real-time supply of aeroponically cultivated trees for the project.
Expert Strategic Access
World-Class Expertise
Mendel Skulski provides access to Ezekiel Golan and Mitchell Joachim. Golan previously grew two 6-meter aeroponically cultivated trees in Israel, which were shipped 9,000 km to Japan for the Aichi World Expo 2005, demonstrating expertise in aeroponic cultivation and international logistics. Mitchell Joachim, co-founder of Terreform ONE and professor at NYU (with connections in Accra), brings visionary architectural integration of natural systems with technological infrastructure. His pioneering work includes constructing the first living Fab Tree Hab.
Why Canada?
Infrastructure & Expertise
Vancouver offers robust infrastructure, agricultural expertise, and consistent electricity supply essential for uninterrupted aeroponic operations. Canada's extensive network of seed banks, nurseries, and connections with Kew Gardens London ensures steady access to regional tree species. This minimizes supply chain disruptions and guarantees high-quality tree production from project inception.
How Aeroponically Shaped Trees are Excellent for this
Transportability
Lightweight shaped trees can be moved in a backpack to remote forest sites, eliminating the need for heavy equipment and tarred roads - critical in regions where infrastructure spans tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Zoning Flexibility
Shaped trees enable tower construction on agricultural land and natural reserves, creating valuable elevated space that maximizes revenue potential through efficient antenna and equipment housing.
Functional Integration
Built-in structural features like integrated stairs allow easy access to elevated equipment spaces, unlike natural trees that require climbing equipment and pose safety risks.
Deployment Efficiency
Aeroponically grown trees mature in 4–6 years with guaranteed quality, whereas mature tree relocation requires heavy machinery, extended timelines, and ecological disruption.