stefano boeri: bosco verticale / vertical forest in milan

‘bosco verticale’ by stefano boeri, milan, italy image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

construction is under way for the ‘bosco verticale’, two residential towers by italian architect stefano boeri of boeri studio within the metropolitan center of milan, italy. the concept of reforestation within the city context intends to minimize the expansion of established urban fabric for additional green spaces while still increasing biodiversity which has been lost during development. the implementation of this project serves as a model for contemporary european cities for linking a building with nature within city limits.

reaching 110 and 76 meters in height, the four sides of each structure will place over 900 mature trees on display to nearby residents and onlookers. the facades are lined with staggered concrete balconies which will become the planting boxes for the various shrubs, plants and trees. ranging from 3, 6 and 7.5 meters tall, the species of the selected vegetation have been carefully chosen to withstand the increasing wind forces at successive levels. to place the green spaces on flat land, the necessary amount of land would occupy 10,000 square meters in a natural forest and 50,000 square meters in a residential setting.

rendering of the forested facadeimage © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

each dwelling will have a personal garden which buffers the interior spaces from acoustic pollution, dust particles, harsh winds and direct sunlight. the leafy canopies will absorb carbon dioxide and breathe oxygen into the homes as well as fresh air. grey water from the building will be filtered and reused for irrigation of the extensive flora while photovoltaic energy systems will contribute to self-sufficiency of the complex.

(left) towers from a nearby park (right) wall section images © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

preparation of the treesimage © marco garofalo

the construction cost of the entire project is only 5% greater than that of a usual skyscraper, making this sort of project feasible and replicable in other polluted cities across the globe.

image © marco garofalo

lifted into the structureimage © marco garofalo

image © marco garofalo

view of construction from the surrounding context image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

construction image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

construction image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

vertical and horizontal green applications image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

environmental factors diagram image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

bioenergy diagram image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

hydration system, vegetation, vertical forest image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

plant selections image © boeri studio (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

project info:

location: milan, italy year: 2007 (on going)

client: hines italia built area: 40.000 sqm budget: 65.000.000,00 EURarchitectural design: BOERISTUDIO (stefano boeri, gianandrea barreca, giovanni la varra)

phase 1: urban plan and preliminary design frederic de smet (coordinator), daniele barillari, julien boitard, matilde cassani, andrea casetto, francesca cesa bianchi, inge lengwenus, corrado longa, eleanna kotsikou, matteo marzi, emanuela messina, andrea sellanes.

phase 2: final design and working plan gianni bertoldi (coordinator), alessandro agosti, andrea casetto, matteo colognese, angela parrozzani, stefano onnis.

consultant for the vegetation project: emanuela borio, laura gatti