Abstract
The purpose of this study is to suggest the minimum distance needed between landscape trees and apartment buildings. in order for the trees to grow soundly and maintain constant growth. Therefore, this study investigated and analyzed the present conditions of the green-spaces contiguous to apartment buildings and the trees inside the apartment complex. The following general problems were identified : (1) the tree growth conditions, (2) the planting intervals, and (3) the planting methods in the apartment complexes. The method of this study was to survey areas, measure the trees and analyze the results. Ten apartment complexes located in Seoul were randomly selected for this study. To analyze the greens contiguous to the building of each apartment complex, the greens were divided into three types, including the front greens, the side greens, and the rear greens. The study surveyed the width of all contiguous greens and the distance from trees to my given building. Four representative sites were specifically investigated to measure the crown widths, heights, and diameters of the trees. These investigations were carried out over 3 months from August to December 2006. According to the results of the study, it was found that the greens are narrower in width and the more closer to a building. The study identified a correlation between the tree and the passage of time after the completion of construction of an apartment complex, showing that the malformation of the trees worsened as time passed. As a result of measuring the right crown and left crown width with the tree trunk as the center, a broad difference was found between coniform trees and trees that tend to branch out more. For example, the ratio of the width of the Acer palmatum is 1:6. However, the ratio of the Metasequoia glyptostroboide is 1:1.7. Based on the overall analysis, it was concluded that the maintained minimum width must be greater than one meter over the green space according to the 'Landscape Standard 2000'. However, that is only applicable to cases such as apartment buildings that present no obstacles. In conclusion having greens placed within one meter of width to a building is not an appropriate environment for the healthy growth of trees. To create sound green spaces, sustainable, long-term growth rate and size should be considered. It is necessary to prepare new standards for the computation of planting trees and the measurement of square landscapes. Wall greenery and shrubberies could be an alternative in the case of a narrow-width green space.
