Urban living requires efficient use of space, but it can be a very environmentally-friendly lifestyle: city residents generally live in small homes with access to walkable neighborhoods and public transportation. One common downside is a lack of green space, but architect Stefano Boeri aims to change all that with his “Bosco Verticale” concept. Italian for “vertical forest”, his project was recently described by the Financial Times as “the most exciting new tower in the world”.
Currently under construction in the Isola neighborhood of central Milan, the inaugural Bosco Verticale project consists of a pair of residential towers. Rising 110 and 76 meters over the city, the towers will be home to 900 trees (some close to 30 feet tall) plus a range of flowering plants and shrubs. That amount of greenery is comparable to 10,000 square meters of forest space, or 50,000 sqm of suburban residential property.
According to Boeri, “Bosco Verticale is a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory. Bosco Verticale is a model of vertical densification of nature within the city.”
Besides offering pleasing aesthetics, the vertical forest concept takes thegreen skyscraper concept even further by creating a healthier environment for residents. The density of plantings creates a microclimate that filters dust and particulate pollution, absorbs CO2, and absorbs noise. Improved shade and temperature regulation will help avoid the “heat island” effect and reduce the energy needed for climate control systems.
http://www.metaeffic...skyscraper.html
Pretty neat. I'd like to see some of these, or something similar, go up in the states.
