Botanium
Jina Lee
The project is to re-systemize the botanical garden based on the idea of pollination, the process by which pollen is transferred in the reproduction of plants, thereby enabling fertilization and sexual reproduction. Most botanical gardens in the world have goals to preserve the plants, exhibit them, and host visitors. Botanium, a new concept for the botanical garden, focuses on another order of nature. By making pathways in the garden which correspond to the pollination paths of the plants it is possible to understand the interrelationships between them and their animal cohorts that facilitate their life processes. Botanium will be located in three different locations to show three different approaches to the idea of ‘pollination’. The locations will be San Francisco, California; Chicago, Illinois; and St. Louis, Missouri. These cities each have an existing botanical garden that can be adapted for the purpose of the project. The aim of Botanium is to create spaces based on nature itself: the communication of nature and the nature of communication.