A large wheel structure with metal spokes, holding small cone-shaped planters filled with green plants, stands against a clear blue sky. The design combines industrial and natural elements.
Lebanese Cedar

Lebanese Cedar

Treviso, Italy

2004

Client   Fabrica
Fabrica, the R+D Centre of Italian company Benetton, is located on a Tadao Ando-designed campus near Treviso, Northern Italy. When a significant Lebanese Cedar on site died in 2003, a competition was launched to transform the tree - still central to Ando’s design - into a sculpture, as it could not be removed.

‘Chosen for its magic’

Tadao Ando

The international competition drew over 350 entries from artists, designers, and architects. In January 2004, 35 proposals underwent technical review before Tadao Ando selected the winners, of which our entry was awarded joint First Place.

Branches with green artificial leaves and white, oval-shaped structures are attached to a tall pole, seen from below against a clear blue sky. The scene appears futuristic or conceptual in design.
A modern, abstract sculpture of a pine tree planted in a metallic, pod-like planter is mounted on a large, stylized windshield wiper above a reflective water surface, with a building in the background.

The design supports the dead tree with a cable net, preserving its form while allowing juvenile Lebanese Cedars to grow at each node. These saplings can reach 800mm before being replanted elsewhere on campus, turning the tree into a vertical nursery.

A detailed line drawing of a tree enclosed within a geometric, transparent structure, featuring intersecting lines and a rectangular frame, set against a plain white background.
A wireframe-style drawing of a potted conifer tree, such as a pine or fir, inside a cylindrical planter with a circular base and diagonal support structures.
A close-up of a sleek, oval-shaped, white pod labeled Fabrica Custom Island attached to metal branches, with green foliage and a deep blue sky in the background.

Lebanese Cedars hold deep symbolic value in Abrahamic religions, representing the environment’s role in human history. In the Bible, their felling marks the ‘end of history’ (Ezekiel 31:1–18). This project echoes this symbolism, suggesting environmental decline but also renewal through new growth—a hopeful vision for the future.

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