Biodiversity has become ubiquitous in project descriptions as yet another mark of the design's environmental accomplishments. The increasing focus on sustainability, the standard inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, prompts a deeper understanding of what biodiversity in urban environments means and how can architecture and urban design actively contribute to it. With species extinction rates soaring and urbanization over natural land continuing, cities become an essential factor in sustaining biodiversity, and the following explores how the built environment can foster multi-species habitats.
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri-led Team Wins Competition for the Parco del Ponte in Genoa
Stefano Boeri Architetti, Metrogramma Milano and Inside Outside have won the competition for the Parco del Ponte in Genoa, Italy. The urban project is located under the new bridge, designed by Renzo Piano to replace the Morandi Bridge that collapsed in August 2018.
Stefano Boeri: "Cities have the potential to become protagonists of a radical change"
Stefano Boeri has used his guest speech at the New York Times Cities of Tomorrow forum to focus on the role that green and urban forests can have in improving the quality of life and air in cities around the world. Speaking at the event in New Orleans, the acclaimed architect highlighted the impact of carbon emissions produced by buildings, while also stressing the potential for architects to use the built environment as a vehicle for positive social and environmental change.
Drawing from experiences such as the Tirana 2030 masterplan and the Bosco Verticale in Milan, Boeri suggested that “cities have the resources and the potential to become protagonists of a radical change aimed at countering the dramatic effects [of carbon emissions] becoming greener, healthier, and more integrated.”
In Progress: Amatrice Refectory / Stefano Boeri Architetti
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Architects: Stefano Boeri Architetti
- Area: 490 m²
- Year: 2016
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Manufacturers: Artemide
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Professionals: Filiera del legno Friuli Venezia Giulia
World's First Vertical Forest City Breaks Ground in China
Construction has begun on the Liuzhou Forest City in the mountainous region of Guangxi, China. Designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, the new ground-up city will accommodate up to 30,000 people in a master plan of environmentally efficient structures covered top-to-bottom in plants and trees.
Liuzhou Forest City will contain all of the essential typologies of the modern city – offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools – housed within a 175 hectare site near the Liujiang River. Employing the firm’s signature vertical forest system, The facades of each building will be covered in plant life, with a total 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants from over 100 species specified.
Stefano Boeri Architetti Unveils Plans for Vertical Forest Towers in Nanjing
Stefano Boeri Architetti has released plans for their first “Vertical Forest” project to be realized in Asia, two mixed-use towers to be located near the Yangtze River in the Pukou District of Nanjing, China. In total, over 1100 trees will cover the building, helping to regenerate local biodiversity while cleaning the air.
Villa La Mediterranee / Boeri Studio
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Architects: Boeri Studio
- Area: 8800 m²
- Year: 2013