A Vertical Forest Is Growing in the Middle of One of Europe’s Dirtiest Cities.
Denizens of Milan, Italy will have a brand new 2.5 acre forest smack in the middle of their city by the end of 2013. You might think that’s a city with its priorities straight. But this particular forest didn’t require the sacrifice of precious commercial real estate—because it’s of the vertical variety.
Brainchild of Italian architecture firm, Stefano Boeri Architetti, the Bosco Verticale (literally, “vertical forest” in English) is two residential apartment buildings peppered with cantilevered terraces. Each terrace is specially designed and engineered to support a small community of trees, shrubs, and other greenery.
When complete, Bosco Verticale will house 730 trees from three to six meters (10 to 20 feet) in height and irrigated primarily by the buildings’ grey water—runoff from baths, sinks, washing machines, and dishwashers. 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 plants will keep the trees company. A true forest.
Milan is the second biggest city in Italy and one of the most polluted in Europe. Bosco Verticale, an “anti-sprawl measure,” is intended to set a new course for the fashion capital. Vertical green spaces expand biodiversity without expanding city limits.
http://singularityhub.com/2013/10/27/a-vertical-forest-is-growing-in-the-middle-of-one-of-europes-dirtiest-cities/
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When all the trees are settled in!
the Milan metropolitan region contains a population of 8,071,271 people in 2011.[6] It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan region is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan
