Architect Stefano Boeri's appeal calls for urban forestry to become a fundamental aspect of design. The Vertical Forests of his studio are indeed recognised as a model of sustainable architecture: here are the most beautiful ones.
Urban forestry and green architecture are becoming a reality in various parts of the world thanks to the Vertical Forests of architect Stefano Boeri. These beautiful and functional structures help protect biodiversity, reduce CO2, and improve air quality and the quality of life for city dwellers. Since the first building in Milan, which was awarded best skyscraper in the world in 2015, more and more cities are adopting this model of construction founded on an architecture that is sustainable by nature.
Now, the new frontier is to connect individual "green" buildings through the construction of true forest cities — small centres made up of dozens of structures like the Vertical Forests. To give concrete form to this commitment to a new way of thinking about infrastructure, architect Boeri's Milan-based studio has launched an appeal addressed to the entire world of design, calling for urban forestry — that is, the presence of plants and green spaces — to be integrated into the construction of all structures, in all cities. This is the "call to urban forestry" by Stefano Boeri architetti.
Trees and forests absorb one fifth of the carbon emissions produced by cities every year. The process of chlorophyll photosynthesis reduces the presence of pollutants in the air, one of the main causes of respiratory diseases, to which seven million deaths per year are attributed globally, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Despite the great gift they give us every day, green areas continue to be under threat: we have lost 7 per cent of the planet's intact forests since 2000, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.
Around two thirds of the world's population will be living in cities by 2030, according to United Nations estimates. Although urban areas cover only 2 per cent of the earth's land surface, they contribute 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, as highlighted by C40, a network bringing together dozens of cities around the world committed to tackling climate change. In light of these facts, new ways of designing urban spaces must be found.
Read also: Let's talk forest, la forestazione urbana per ridisegnare il mondo in cui viviamo
If a single tree can bring considerable benefits to the city and its inhabitants, an urban wood or forest can be an extraordinary help in improving the quality of health and life in a city.Stefano Boeri architetti: Urban forestry, un appello
Boeri's call to action in favour of urban forestry is more than a vision for sustainable architecture. Green elements such as gardens, trees and forests must become the central feature of all design. The appeal therefore also concerns botanists, landscape architects, researchers, representatives of government institutions and civil society, universities and NGOs. The aim is for structures like the Vertical Forests to become the standard against which all buildings and infrastructure must measure themselves. Here are some of the most beautiful ones designed by the studio Stefano Boeri architetti.
The two residential towers, 110 and 76 metres tall, contain 900 trees (each of which is three, six or nine metres tall) and more than 2,000 plants. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (Ctbuh) awarded Milan's Bosco Verticale best building in the world in 2015.
The Nanjing vertical forest project in China was the first Vertical Forest to be built in Asia. Two towers, one 200 metres tall and the other 108 metres: a surface area of 6,000 square metres covered by 1,100 trees belonging to 23 native species and more than 2,500 shrubs and plants.
The Torre dei biancospini won a competition launched by the city of Utrecht, in the Netherlands. The building designed by Boeri will be 90 metres tall and plans to incorporate into its façades 10,000 plants of 30 different varieties (360 trees, 9,640 shrubs and flowers), the equivalent of one hectare of woodland.
A collection of Vertical Forests surrounded by 40,000 trees and one million plants. This is Liuzhou forest city in China, a Stefano Boeri project that will be built to the north of the city located in the mountainous province of Guangxi in southern China, across an area of approximately 175 hectares.
Stefano Boeri's Forêt blanche in Paris will be the first French Vertical Forest. The façade of the 54-metre tower, built entirely in wood, will be covered by more than 2,000 plants. It is one of the 12 architectural projects presented by the Compagnie de Phalsbourg on the Marne Europe-Villiers sur Marne site.
Trudo vertical forest in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, will be the first Vertical Forest dedicated to social housing and therefore with more affordable prices. It will be 75 metres tall and 125 trees approximately 6 metres high, along with more than 5,000 shrubs and plants of various species, will be placed on its balconies.
Forest cities are a new generation of urban settlements that challenge climate change, bringing the Vertical Forest model into a future of increasingly green cities. The first ones will be built in China: not only in Liuzhou, but also in Shijiazhuang.
