When architect Stefano Boeri first came up with the concept of the so-called Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), that is two skyscrapers clad in greenery, many people believed it would remain just a concept and never see the light of day. But now, a third Vertical Forest is to be built in Nanjing, China.
The Nanjing Vertical Forest, as the project is called, will consist of two skyscrapers rising from a shared podium. One will be 656 ft (200 m) high and the other 354 ft (108 m). Apart from apartments they will also house a hotel, office space, a green architecture school, restaurants, a conference hall, an exhibition spaces, and retail space. The taller skyscraper will also have a private club on the roof, and the smaller one will have a rooftop swimming pool.
Together, the buildings will be clad in 600 tall trees and 500 medium-sized trees that will be sourced from 23 local species. The façade will also feature 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs in concrete planters that will be integrated into the units’ balconies. It is estimated that all this will absorb 25 tons of CO2 annually, an produce around 132 lbs (60 kg) of oxygen per day.
A lot of concrete will be used to construct the towers, so it’s still debatable just how sustainable these Vertical Forests actually are. But giving city dwellers a chance to have a garden in their apartment will definitely improve their quality of life.
The Nanjing Vertical Forest is being financed by the Nanjing Yang Zi State-Owned Investment Group and will be completed by 2018. Boeri is also busy improving his original designs for the Vertical Forest and hopes to see more of them built around in China in the near future, in cities such as Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou, Shanghai and Chongqing.
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