The Vertical Forest in Milan: wonder of the urban design

Have you ever heard of the Vertical Forest in Milan? Do you know what it is? If you are not yet aware of this peculiar construction of the Belpaese, then come check it out! Italian Traditions lets you discover the most beautiful building in the world! The Vertical Forest is a building complex formed by two residential towers designed by Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca and Giovanni La Varra, located in the business Centre of Milan, in the Isola neighborhood.

Vertical Forest in Milan- Italian Traditions

The two towers were inaugurated in 2014, and what characterizes them is the presence of more than two thousand species of trees, among which tall shrubs and trees are dispersed throughout the facade.

It is an ambitious metropolitan reforestation project (also called the Porta Nuova Project) that, through the vertical densification of green, it aims at increasing the plant and animal biodiversity of the Lombard capital, reducing urbanization, while also contributing to the mitigation of the microclimate.

The characteristics of the Vertical Forest in Milan

The structures contributes to the creation of a microclimate that creates humidity, filters the fine dust (or it diverts its path), significantly reduces noise pollution, cleans the air, protects us from solar radiation through foliage shading, and protections against wind through the windbreak action of the fronds. The Vertical Forest is located in the business district of Milan, known for the presence of several high-rise buildings, including, among others, the Unicredit Tower, the capital building of the region of Lombardy, the Pirelli Tower, the Solaria Tower.

Another peculiarity of this building is the colorfulness of the trees that line its surface. The tree species, with the succession of the seasons, renew their own colors and those of the entire architectural work: this is why during the spring, the two towers take on delicate pastel shades, while in autumn at the end of the growing season, they are tinged with warm autumn colors. As evidence of its greatness are the architectural awards it has received. The Vertical Forest in Milan is the winner of numerous competitions: it has already been awarded the International Highrise Award in 2014. Just last year, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a prestigious international construction industry association , declared it “the most beautiful and innovative skyscraper in the world.” The jury preferred it to other giants of great caliber such as the new One World Trade Center in New York and CapitaGreen in Singapore.

The Vertical Forest in Milan is certainly not the first building be built according to the most advanced eco-friendly technologies. Founders of this genre of construction are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built around 590 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar II, but also the marcitoi meadows, developed in the thirteenth century by Cistercian monks, and the Guinigi Tower in Lucca. More recently, the utopian dwellings designed by architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, inaugurated in 1986: their facades are entirely covered by tree leaves.