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What’s that over there? Is that two large building blocks in the middle of Milan covered in a rich, green forest?

See The Forest That’s Growing Within A Concrete Block In Milan

In the Porta Nuova district of Milan, Italy, there is a pair of residential towers that (will) host more than 900 trees on 8,900 square meters of terraces as part of a “rehabilitation” of the historic district.

Or in other terms: lots and lots of trees in a tiny little space to make the place look prettier. An ace creative idea.

Oh, and just a side thought about the video:

How much does the man at 0:23 look like Hugh Jackman?! IS HE HUGH JACKMAN’S LONG LOST TWIN BROTHER?

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Here is the vertical forest being built…


…and here are two renderings of what the future of this block will look like.

Fun fact: The design was tested in a wind tunnel to ensure the trees would not topple from gusts of wind.

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Here is a video detailing the plan behind it all.

Bosco Verticale consists an innovative project, project devised by Boeri Studio and developed by Hines, being part of the wider redevelopment project of Porta Nuova. It is a unique architecture project on a worldwide base redefining the relationship between nature and the metropolitan area.

This project aims to recompose the urban fabric of the city offering Milan an example of architecture which could be representative of Italian history and tradition, as well as competing on an international level.

The two towers 110 and 76 meters high are designed to accommodate 20,000 plants, including trees, shrubs, perennial flowers and ground-covering plants. The trees were heavily chosen considering exposure to sunlight and winds and then cultivated in those risks for two years. The plants were then painstakingly prepared in order to prevent any damage during the transportation and bedding faces. The presence of a plant life system completely integrated into the building with a breathing and life facade contributes to the well-being of the environment and the comfort of living in it.

In winter the leaves let the sunlight in whilst in summer they provide shade, reducing the temperature range between the outside and the inside of the apartments. They absorb the fine particles of urban pollution, create a microclimate and produce oxygen, thus making the quality and sustainability produced by the architecture an objective factor.

The Bosco Verticale is a system which optimizes, reclaims, and produces energy through a new integrated conceptive sustainability. The advanced waterproofing operators’ has been analyzed by a team of highly specialized experts. The plants will be voted by centralized and automated equipment that filters great water from the heating and air-conditioning systems.

It is a teamwork and I think it’s a great innovation. In 2015, the year of the Expo, Milan will have two towers that are a breakthrough in terms of sustainability as well as being a new concept of urban ecology, which is extremely important for us today.

The plant containers are equipped with electrically welded mesh on which there are brackets that hold the turf in place. An additional system for securing the trunks of bigger size has been devised using pliable cables to ensure the trees flexibility and growth. In order to ensure that the plant containers were appropriately designed and constructed to the optimum size, two major tests were carried out in wind tunnels.

First, at Milan’s Polytechnic University and subsequently at Florida International University in Miami. A team of specialized gardners will be responsible for the upkeep of the plant life and to carryout maintenance work three times a year. This structure with its iridescent cloak offers the city an extraordinary spectacle that constantly varies with the changing seasons.

The Bosco Verticale represents an urbanistic and architectural challenge and above all a pioneering project for cities of the future.

The Bosco Verticale is an example of sustainable architecture that can be replicated both in Italy and elsewhere in the world.