The Bosco Verticale (“Vertical Forest”) residential complex opened in October 2014 in Milan’s Porta Nuova Isola district. The green towers were designed by architect Stefano Boeri. Bosco Verticale consists of two towers, 80 and 112 meters tall, planted with almost 800 trees, 11,000 perennials and 5,000 shrubs. Planted in the ground, all this greenery would cover about 20,000 square meters.
The eco towers are a counterpoint to glass and concrete skyscrapers. Their frame is made of standard building materials, of course, but plants cover the whole surface of the building. They shape the microclimate inside the apartments and add to urban biodiversity. Bosco Verticale shows how a city can host an ecosystem that brings together different species of plants, birds and insects. By early estimates, about 1,600 birds and butterflies live in the Vertical Forest.
A group of botanists and ethologists chose the plants. The trees and shrubs were grown in a nursery to adapt them to city conditions. An irrigation system was designed specifically for the towers, based on weather studies and calculations of how much water the plants need. The residents pay for the upkeep of the greenery.
Today the green towers, whose look changes with the seasons, are one of Milan’s landmarks. The vertical forest creates its own microclimate, reduces dust in the city air, raises humidity, absorbs carbon dioxide, produces oxygen and blocks noise.
“Living” buildings have become an architectural trend in recent years. The architect behind Bosco Verticale designed a skyscraper covered in plants and flowers for the Chinese city of Huanggang, the first green building of its kind in the country. Singapore has its own biophilic high-rise with even more plants than Bosco Verticale: about 80,000 plants grow in its gardens. Bjarke Ingels, founder of the Danish firm BIG, which designed the building, calls CapitaSpring an example of tropical urbanism.
