Those that think that Milan is all grey smog, advertising billboards and nightlife have got it all wrong. For years now we’ve been seeing a trend reversal, a return to greenery, a need for the city to have nature spots. It is all down to people becoming aware of the enormous benefits that having plants inside urban spaces offers, which has led to the creation of redevelopment and renewal projects that place nature front and centre. That is how we have come to participate in the creation of parks and gardens, flowery corners and even more exceptional and unique projects. One that we just have to mention is the Bosco Verticale – the Vertical Forest.
The result of the creative minds of Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca and Giovanni La Varra, who, in adapting to the large, modern cities of the present day, chose to design a green space that extended upwards, the Bosco Verticale – Vertical Forest – which includes over 2,000 tree species spread over two skyscrapers that are 112m and 80m high respectively. The green consultant and curator was the Milan-born landscape designer and agronomist Laura Gatti.
Inaugurated in October 2014 within the Centro Direzionale di Milano business district, on the edge of the Isola quarter, it represents an experiment in urban reforestation. The benefits provided by the plants found in the hanging gardens of the two buildings abound. In fact, the forest absorbs fine dust and CO2, boosts the production of moisture and oxygen and has a positive effect on the weather, helping to moderate temperatures.
Looking at it from different points of view, the Bosco Verticale is considered by many to be a symbol of a Milan that is in continual evolution, of a mankind that has not sacrificed progress and modernity, yet understands the need to protect the environment. Cement and greenery come together to form a partnership that was once unthinkable.
In 2015 it won the award for the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” according to a ranking drawn up by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
