It may take decades to halt global warming finally, and begin to reverse the threat. The battery industry is doing its best to manage the primary contributor, carbon by supporting renewable energy projects. In the interim, we also need to cut back on electricity demand in cities, where HVAC is a major contributor. If we planted forests with paths through them instead of streets, that would help. However, a group of architects wants to take this further by planting trees on the side of buildings.
Planting Trees on the Side of the Bosco Verticale
Architects at the Borie Studio in Milan made a remarkable contribution when they designed their ‘vertical forest’ twin towers. They planned them around the assumption the 364-foot, and 249-foot structures would host over 900 trees between them.
These ten-to-twenty-foot-high trees grow in fixed containers on 960,000 square feet of terraces up the sides of the buildings. The project completed in 2014, and received the 2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide award the following year. Since then, the trees on the side of the Bosco Verticale have racked up some significant green achievements.
The Green Value Added By the Vertical Forest
Biodiversity has returned to an historic urban district undergoing renewal. Birds and insects have returned to the delight of high-rise children able to feed them.
The trees on the side of Bosco Verticale have also created a microclimate. A place where humidity absorbs dust and CO2 just like a real forest, and creates oxygen. Moreover, they shelter residents from harmful sun rays and acoustic pollution too. The architects view their project as an eco-sensitive alternative to urban sprawl turning farmlands into high-density suburbs.
Over 4.500 shrubs and 15,000 plants complement the 900 trees where there is sufficient exposure to the sun. What a wonderful alternative to a potted geranium on the kitchen windowsill.
Related
Ever Heard of Green Walls? – UPS Battery Center
GreenRoofs Canada – What Is It?
Preview Image: Stefano Boeri Architette
