Today, the majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas. In 2008, for the first time in history, more people lived in cities than in rural areas, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
This has caused some challenges for urban planners as cities become more and more populous. A group of architects in Italy had an idea to address the problem by designing the world’s first vertical forest, two skyscrapers that incorporate plant life into the structure.
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Designed by Boeri Studio, the two 27-storey towers in Milan have 900 trees and over 2000 plants, which are watered through a filtration system. The vegetation produces humidity and oxygen, and absorbs carbon dioxide and pollution.
“Vertical Forest is a model for a sustainable residential building, a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory,” the designers wrote on their website.
Architects say the Vertical Forest is equivalent to a forest area of about 10,000 square metres. Earlier this year, the two towers were made open to the public.
Now, the team at Boeri Studio are building another 36 storey vertical forest in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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