Vertical Forest: The Latest Architecture and News

Stefano Boeri Architetti presented a new design for the Vertical Forest towers during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The prototype would be in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the next host of COP28 in 2023. The ambitious project would represent the first Vertical Forest prototype for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and it is the latest in an extended list of greenery-covered buildings by Boeri Architetti, including the Bosco Verticale in Milan, the Easyhome Huanggang in China, and a prototype of the First Dutch Vertical Forest.

Seven years after the inauguration of Bosco Verticale in Milan, Stefano Boeri Architetti presented a video documentary of Trudo Tower, the first Vertical Forest in social housing. The 19-storey residential tower, which is built in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, features hundreds of various species on each of its four facades, with 125 affordable apartments that accommodate low-income residents. The miniseries consists of 3 episodes that explore how "living in contact with trees and greenery - and enjoying their advantages - is not the prerogative of rich people but could well become a possible choice for millions of citizens around the world.”

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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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Urban Forest, a 30-story mixed-use residential high-rise is the latest development designed by Koichi Takada Architects. Located in South Brisbane, Australia, the building features one of the world’s most densely-forested vertical gardens, going beyond regular green buildings norms and achieving “300% site cover with living greenery, featuring 1000 plus trees and more than 20,000 plants selected from 259 native species”. Increasing biodiversity and reducing the ecological footprint, the structure highlights another stage in the evolution of the architectural vertical garden.

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Albania’s capital city, Tirana, is slated to receive the country’s first Vertical Forest in a scheme designed by Milanese architecture firm, Stefano Boeri Architetti. Originating as part of the city’s new development master plan completed by the firm 3 years ago, the building will greatly increase the amount of greenery within and around the metropolitan area. Tirana’s Vertical Forest will contain 21 floors above ground with 4 more below and will be populated by 105 apartment units above a primarily commercial ground floor.

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For the "Imagine Angers" international design competition, Vincent Callebaut Architectures worked in collaboration with Bouygues Immobilier group to submit a proposal for the French city at the intersection of social and technological innovation, with a focus on ecology and hospitality. Named Arboricole, meaning “tree” and “cultivation,” this live-work-play environment gives back as much to the environment as it does its users. Although WY-TO prevailed in the competition, the Callebaut scheme succeeded in winning the public vote.

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The new social housing project by Stefano Boeri Architetti is the first to integrate a vertical forest into an affordable residential skyscraper, improving the living conditions often incurred within such developments. 5,200 shrubs and 125 trees will be planted up the 75m tall structure in Eindhoven.

Trudo Vertical Forest will contain 125 social housing units over 19 floors to house lower income social groups, particularly young people. Each apartment will include a balcony filled with an array of trees, plants and shrubs for a forest soaring into the city's sky.

The next Vertical Forest tower will be located in France, as Stefano Boeri Architetti have revealed renderings of their designs for Forêt Blanche, a 54-meter-tall mixed-use tower located within the Paris metropolitan region in Villiers-sur-Marne.

The latest in the family of Vertical Forest concepts, which have included built and planned projects for China, Europe, South America and the United States, Forêt Blanche will be covered by 2000 trees and plants – a green surface equivalent to a hectare of forest and more than 10 times the building footprint.