Does a Vertical Forest in Italy Forecast the Future of Green Living?

“Bringing the outside in” is an interior design strategy that’s been utilized for years. There’s something inimitably attractive about keeping the beauty and serenity of nature close to where we live, from majestic shade trees on front lawns to potted spider ferns in tiny apartment kitchens. As “green” living grows and evolves as a practical and popular concept, integrating vista views of tranquil gardens and plants with the power to up air quality has been an intuitive development. A pair of condo towers in Milan, Italy, are raising the stakes on this trend by bringing the inside… up?

A new epoch in green living takes root: the Bosco Verticale with fledgling greenery, as pictured recently. As these trees and shrubs grow, they will purify the air, aid in the condos’ climate control, and look pretty darn cool. Photo credit: CC.

Milan is a gorgeous city, but it’s also absolutely filthy. The air quality is terrible, and city planners have long struggled with the question of how to combat the smog and pollution problems. From that challenge arose the concept of the Bosco Verticale, or “vertical forest.” A recent Upworthy vid captured the essence of the groundbreaking project, which mixes sleek, modern condo living with enough plants, trees, and shrubbery to fill a hexacre of horizontal land… while utilizing only the reasonable footprint of a contemporary highrise. At the same time, the condos, constituting many new dwellings in Milan’s hot, revitalized downtown district, will assist in the headache of housing the influx of singles and families eager to relocate. It’s the brainchild of Stefano Boeri, who labored for years over the practicalities of building condo towers strong enough to support mature trees rooted several stories above the ground. (The answer, in case you were wondering, is lots and lots of reinforced concrete.)

The neighboring condo towers, dubbed Tower D and Tower E, will be serviced by a special maintenance team charged with taking care of the greenery on an ongoing basis. An integrated graywater irrigation system will keep everything hydrated and thriving in a sustainable manner. And the new residents, due to begin moving in later this year, will wake up each morning to the sublime experience of birds singing in trees outside their windows and sun-dappled leaves shading their living space… even on the fifteenth floor. It’s mindblowingly cool, really.

Note: this post is Part One of a planned doubleheader on green living. Come back on Monday to read about the coolest, greenest living projects in Philly right now!