Hypertree

Hypertree is an urban canopy project on Calle de las Pizzas in Miraflores, Lima, designed by Kevin Abanto Architects with Pedro Rodriguez, Miche Remy, Gino Lermo, and Indira Almonacid. It treats vegetation as the core building material, using xerophyte plants chosen for the environmental conditions of the city, their low water consumption, and the small amount of maintenance they require. Each type of vegetation carries a specific purpose, and together they form the single composition that gives the project its name.

Miraflores is one of the busiest districts of Lima, and Calle de las Pizzas is a pedestrian street that draws visitors from across Peru and around the world. Placing a green structure into this kind of dense, heavily walked setting responds to a familiar challenge in urban design, where hard surfaces and constant foot traffic leave little room for shade, cooling, or contact with nature. The artificial-natural combination behind Hypertree answers that gap by building a piece of greenery that can stand within the street itself rather than at its edges.

Plants as structure and shelter

Coverage plays an essential role in both the urban and formal environment of the project. A canopy over a public street shapes how people move, where they pause, and how comfortable the space feels through the day, so the form of the cover matters as much as its area. By selecting xerophyte species suited to Lima’s dry coastal climate, the design keeps the planting realistic to sustain over time, which is a constant concern for any planted structure in a public setting. The result reads as a deliberate piece of architecture rather than ornamental landscaping added after the fact.

Lima sits within one of the driest coastal strips in Peru, where rain is scarce for much of the year, so plant choices that thrive on little water are a practical necessity rather than a stylistic preference. Projects of this kind show how green infrastructure can be woven directly into the fabric of a city street. Hypertree offers Miraflores a shaded, planted landmark that gives a single point in the city a distinct and welcoming character for the many people who pass through it.