Vertical Forest

Living in a forest in the centre of Milano

Via Gaetano De Castillia

Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) in Milano was inaugurated in 2014 and designed by Boeri Studio; today it represents one of the city’s most innovative and prestigious symbols. A new model of urban regeneration and design with a strong ecological impact, now replicated globally with great success.

 

The two residential towers, respectively 76 and 100 meters high, are located midway between the old Isola district and the futuristic Garibaldi neighbourhood; the façades are enveloped by 800 trees, 4,500 shrubs and 15,000 plants (equivalent to 7000 sqm of a normal horizontal forest) that thrive on the cantilevered balconies and terraces. Several species of birds have found their natural habitat amongst the branches.

 

4 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE VERTICAL FOREST

 

  1. The pluri-awarded Bosco Verticale has received recognition for its impressive sustainable credentials: the foliage creates a screen that filters the sun's rays, generating a pleasant internal microclimate. At the same time, it 'regulates' humidity, produces oxygen and absorbs fine particles plus 30 tons of carbon dioxide every year. The centralised irrigation system reduces waste: a soil probe system maintains plant heath, and the water for irrigation is obtained from the building’s filtered greywater.
    The combination of these characteristics earned the project the International Highrise Award from the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt (2014) and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) award as the “2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide” celebrated in IIT in Chicago.
     
  2. The question arises spontaneously: how do you actually maintain a forest on a skyscraper? A team of "flying gardeners", specialised arborists who are also expert climbers, periodically descend the edifice like professional climbers, hanging from ropes just as if they were climbing a mountain face.
     
  3. The M2 and M5 underground lines run below the Bosco Verticale, so a system was studied to prevent vibrations from damaging the structure or disturbing the residents. The flexible materials that were used to muffle the vibrations make the buildings "float" and block seismic waves.
     
  4. Bosco Verticale is now so famous that it has been included in one of the most popular board games: Taboo. Maybe you've already played and found the card? The clue giver for each team cannot use the words that are Taboo: 'Milan', 'skyscraper', 'Boeri', 'trees', 'forest'. Now that you know, you can make sure your team wins!

 

EXPLORE THE DISTRICT

 

We created a special guide to explore the neighbourhood: you can find it here

Ticket information

Ticket information:

Not open to the public because they are private buildings

Public transport

Public transport:

UNDERGROUND

line M2 green Garibaldi FS and Gioia stops
line M5 lilac Isola stop

What's nearby

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