Bosco Verticale: The Latest Architecture and News

With the increase of urban density and the decrease in the availability of land, the verticalization phenomenon has intensified in cities all over the world. Similar to the vertical growth of buildings — which is often a divisive issue for architects and urban planners — many initiatives have sought in the vertical dimension a possibility to foster the use of vegetation in urban areas. Vertical gardens, farms and forests, rooftop vegetable gardens, and elevated structures for urban agriculture are some of the many possibilities of verticalization in plant cultivation, each with its unique characteristics and specific impacts on the city and its inhabitants.

But is verticalization the ideal solution to make cities greener? And what are the impacts of this action in urban areas? Furthermore, what benefits of urban plants are lost when adopting vertical solutions instead of promoting its cultivation directly on the ground?

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Stefano Boeri Architetti has unveiled its vision for the first vertical forests in Africa, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The 3 cubes or the 3 experimental edifices consisting of one hotel and two residential structures, will be part of the new administrative town plan, under construction in the southeast of the city.

In this short film, part of a four-part video series co-produced by Curbed and The Verge, the Bosco Verticale—the towering residential forest in the dense urban environment of Milan—is examined for its architectural prowess, as well as its botanical aptitude. In the film, architect Stefano Boeri and expert arborists explain what makes the skyscraper so unique, as well as it's very real potential effect on air pollution in the city.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has selected Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale as the Best Tall Building Worldwide 2015 for “its extraordinary implementation of vegetation at such scale and height," according to a press release. The tower was selected from a shortlist of four buildings, which included SOM’s One World Trade Center, Toyo Ito and RSP Architects’ CapitaGreen and Foster + Partners’ Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower.