Today we would like to discuss a modern Italian architectural innovation, the Bosco Verticale, or the Vertical Forest in Milan, Italy. This form of architecture comes at a time when there is an ever-growing need for greenery in urban landscapes and cities that are more crowded than ever in human history. As a result, many architects, scientists, and urban planners are rushing to mitigate the harmful effects of urbanization on the environment.

Architect Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale has found a way to help the environment as well as reduce environmental aggressors. Between 2009 and 2014 Boeri built two Vertical Forest buildings in the Porta Nuova area of Milan. 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. Overall, there are an average of 2 trees, 8 shrubs, and 40 bushes for each occupant in the building, totaling one mile in length.

The soil, made of organic matter, volcanic material, and agricultural soil, aims at reducing the volume that weighs on the perimeter of the balconies. Solar panels on the roof provide the energy for a pump system that irrigates all trees and shrubs with ground water.

Unlike traditional edifices, the facades of the towers do not magnify the sun that reflects harmful rays back onto the Earth’s surface. Instead, the “green curtain” filters the sun’s light, regulates humidity, produces oxygen, and absorbs CO2 and micro particles.

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.

Bosco Verticale Video
Stefano Boeri Architetti