The Co-Lab Branching Out and Carving Roots - Miler Lagos: The Merx Tree

On a sunny afternoon in late August 2025, a truck backed its way onto the lawn behind the Rubenstein Arts Center and deposited a load of cardboard collected from around Duke's campus.  

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What many folks could mistake as a rogue pile of trash from move-in day or an intense online shopping spree, was there for a special reason.   

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Colombian artist and engineer Miler Lagos, and his team were in town to work on a special installation project sponsored by Duke Arts, Office of Climate and Sustainability, Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Center for Documentary Studies (CDS), Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), and in collaboration with the Innovation Co-Lab.  

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Setting out to create a representation of a Ceiba tree — an ancient and sacred symbol in Mesoamerican and Amazonian cultures, Lagos and his team created a detailed 3D model and a plan to build a tree out of recycled materials. Using a mix of hand building and digital fabrication techniques, thousands of layers of cardboard need to be cut and shaped into the base of a tree.  

Technology to Grow a Tree

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Following its mission of providing the latest equipment, tools, and technology to Duke's creative community, the Innovation Co-Lab was excited to be a partner in the tree building process. Strategizing on how to translate digital designs into reality, it was decided that "reference layers" needed to be cut for every couple inches of the tree's height. The Co-Lab was happy to assist with that, setting up and cutting through dozens of sheets of recycled cardboard material on the large ShopBot CNC in the Ruby Makerspace Studio. 

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Stacking cardboard onto and around each of these reference layers, Lagos and his team began the painstaking process of growing a tree. The Co-Lab is always inspired by creative endeavors that push boundaries and combine traditional and cutting-edge techniques, and will continue to provide its support for amazing projects like these.

Miler Lagos's exhibit "The Merx Tree" can be viewed in the second floor gallery space of the Rubenstein Arts Center until November 25th 2025              

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Artist picture and Bio courtesy of Duke Arts, In process photos courtesy of George Breeden