Breathing Tower

Yuji Oshima with key members Tobias Baldauf, Florian Otto, Marie-theres Okresek, Jorg Stotzer

Description of Climate Clock Proposal Our proposition presents a mysteriously flying garden mounted on top of a tower. The garden will be equipped with a sensor which can measure the air quality of San Jose and its surrounding. Those sensors will show immediate action in case of less air quality and produce water mist (200 microns) by several jet nozzles. The volume of water mist is preciously controlled by a computer. In case of high CO2 level, this effect will be seen as a cumulus cloud when the tower is literally misted over with fog. However, with good air quality the garden itself can be seen from far distance. A Ginkgo tree, as one of the oldest witnesses of our earth’s history (some of them are over 1000 years old), will be planted to register the seasons with its leaves and the climate in its trunk. With technology to observe climate change, the Ginkgo tree will record carefully year by year the climate development as annual rings in its body. The height of the tower will be defined by the Sea Level Rise. In the IPCC Assessment Report, Climate Change 2001 scientists expect a 68,2m sea level rise in case of total ice melting of Greenland and Antarctica. The height of the tower according to these results will thus also operate as an admonishment, imagining , San José being 42.2 meters under water. We would like to apply the same method in case this tower will be built in another country. The tree-like trunk holding the garden will consist of an elevator or staircase through which the visitors are brought up to the top to overlook the Silicon Valley. Our proposal is not only to collect and show the climate change data but also to cultivate new results by comparing different vegetation due to dry and humid air condition. We consider Breathing Tower living public art.