Today we would like to discuss a modern Italian architectural innovation, the Bosco Verticale, or the Vertical Forest in Milan, Italy.
These two towers in the Porta Nuova area of Milan are the brainchild of architect Stefano Boeri. Built over the course of five years (2009 – 2014), the towers have twenty-six and eighteen floors respectively and house four hundred condominiums. The intention behind the buildings’ construction was to create a “home for trees that also houses humans and birds.” In fact, each tower houses 900 trees, 5,000 shrubs, and 11,000 perennial plants each chosen for the specific conditions they would have to endure.
This form of architecture comes at a time when there is an ever-growing need for greenery in our urban landscapes. More people live in cities now than at any other point in human history. As a result, many architects, scientists, and urban planners are rushing to mitigate the harmful effects of urbanization on the environment. Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale, has found a way to not only help the environment but also reduce environmental aggressors such as pollution that affect the population.
Unlike traditional edifices, the facades of the towers do not magnify the sun that reflects harmful rays back onto the Earth’s surface. The greenery instead filters the sun’s light and creates a pleasant atmosphere inside the buildings. This ‘green curtain “regulates” humidity, produces oxygen, and absorbs CO2 and microparticles’. Boeri’s innovation has won him several international awards such as the International Highrise Award from the Deutschen Architekturmuseums in Frankfurt (2014) and the CTBUH Award for the best tall building in the world from the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat at Chicago’s IIT (2015).
Since the inception of the Bosco Verticale, many other Vertical Forests have been constructed around the world. Some examples can be found in Nanjing (China), Sydney, Singapore, Taiwan, Toronto, and Bogota.
Learn more about the Bosco Verticale’s innovations and it’s “Flying Gardners” by clicking on the links below.
Stefano Boeri Architetti
(https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/vertical-forest/)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosco_Verticale)
