June 21, 2011
Ten Tree Project
How can we communicate to the general public the benefits of quality design within outdoor environments, as well as the environmental benefits of green infrastructure? The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has taken on the task of spreading that message with an installation called the “Ten Tree Project”. The concept is to place ten large boxed shade trees into a configuration that encourages social interaction and human comfort. Installed in an underutilized urban plaza or open space, the ten trees are placed in a rectangular configuration and then left alone with ten movable chairs.
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This part public art, part promotional project was first installed in an open plaza at Cuyamaca Community College in San Diego in May 2011. Within fifteen minutes of installation, students were clustered under the shade of the trees on that warm day. Since that time, the space created by the trees has been heavily used by students and faculty to take a break, read, study, relax, and socialize. The transformation of the plaza was impressive.
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The trees are scheduled to be moved in early July 2011 to the University of California San Diego campus. In the fall of 2011, it is the intent of ASLA San Diego to install the project in downtown San Diego to celebrate the ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo that will take place at the San Diego Convention Center (October 30 – November 2, 2011).
