This Cathedral Is Made Out Of Living Trees

Man made designs don't always have to be destructive to the land they inhabit nor do they have to involve chopping down trees to make wooden beams to support structures. Italian artist Giuliano Mauri's epic Tree Cathedral is a perfect example of architecture that is quite literally a part of nature. The late artist's two groves of trees are destined to grow into a pair of magnificent basilicas to create a cathedral made out of living trees.

The framework columns will eventually decay to be replaced by the hornbeam trees planted in the middle of each frame. As these grow, their canopies will combine to form the ceiling of a Gothic cathedral.

Mauri, who passed away in 2009, laid the groundwork for his first tree cathedral in Valsugana, Italy in 2002. The framework of the cathedral at the bottom of Mount Arera in north Italy's region of Lombardy was finished in 2010. I'm in love with this incredible design. His website boasts an archive of inspirational wooden structures.