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Poetic courtyard: star appearance of three giant trees

In the inner courtyard of the Christoph Merian Foundation, the existing elements, a fountain made of the red sandstone typical of Basel and three magnificent old trees, were skilfully staged.

In the project, which we were allowed to develop and implement together with designer Stauffenegger+Partner, three underlit round benches around the tree trunks create new places to stay. The possibilities for using the sunken round bench are manifold: depending on one's needs, one can sit, lounge or lie down - depending on how one can best enjoy this wonderfully poetic place at the moment.

The seat slats are made of Accoya wood: This innovative wood material is made from fast-growing, sustainable wood and goes through an environmentally friendly modification process called acetic anhydride modification (acetylation). This changes the cell structure of the wood, making it highly resistant to moisture, insect infestation and rot. At the same time, it remains biodegradable and non-toxic.

Accoya wood was chosen here so that the joint pattern of the conically segmented seat slats remains regular. Accoya also swells and shrinks only slightly in rain and dryness.

Durability is the name of the game: the substructure is chosen so that the seat slats can be shortened if necessary and do not hinder the further growth of the trees.

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