Shapes of Trees within a Controlled Sphere of Light (II)

Akio Okumura¹ and Masaki Ogawa²

¹Kiso Mitake Okumura Architects, 3-16-19 Nakamura-kita, Nerima-ku, Tokyo 176, Japan
²MIDI Sogo Sekkei Kenkyu-jo inc., 1-18-9 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152, Japan

(Received August 24, 1988; Accepted October 31, 1988)

Keywords: Tree Shapes, Environment, Light, Computer Simulation

Abstract. In its earliest and fastest growth stages, a tree has not yet produced what can properly be called a crown. In the growth stage where the crown begins to take shape, a certain amount of atrophication occurs, resulting in a slower overall growth rate. When the crown has acquired a typical shape it is of thick concentration. As it matures, the leaf and stem concentration decreases. In the tree's efforts to counter this phenomenon, there occur appropriate variations: branch growth rate, downward branch curving, typical trunk growth, twining, etc.