World's First Vertical Forest

A vertical forest is nearing completion in Milan. There are two tower apartment complexes which contain a total of 400 residential units. The facade of the buildings will be covered with 730 trees, 5,000 shrubs, and 11,000 perennial plants. It is expected to have the same ecological impact as 10,000 square meters of forest.

Aside from fighting smog and producing oxygen, the foliage is expected to provide insulation to the residential units.

FB Top Comments | Maybe they should just scrap this plan. I can't imagine that the trained architects and engineers that designed this ever considered all the potential issues raised by a bunch of random people on the internet. Trees need water and could possibly fall over? What novel ideas! | I'm curious how many people, primarily kids, will fall to their death climbing trees. | won't the roots and weight of the trees and foliage (especially after a rain) cause the patios to become too heavy to be supported properly? | Imagine the bugs, and the birds, and all the other wildlife the trees would invite to your home. | How does all this foliage get watered? Where do the roots go? Who trims it all of it? Isn't half the point of a forest for the wildlife that dwell there? It's a good idea, but at the same time, it's not. | How much water does it require though, do the residents have to pay for that? Also how do the roots not destroy the foundations? Really great idea otherwise | And I hate to spoil all of you negative Nellies, but people are already growing plants and trees on top of buildings....And somehow the world is still spinning. | same ecological impact as 10,000 square meters of forest? Must be one fucked up forest | The root system of a tree is nearly as large as the tree itself - how do they propose to handle the weight as these trees age and become immense?  | It's about time that people started going up. So many cities are growing out more than up. Also the forest idea is long past overdue. This will do so much for the building that would cost millions in engineering and materials to do man-made. | And those of you who says its impossible. Its not. This isnt a hoax. Nor are we looking for confirmation. This is fact. Engineering has brought us far. | People think an architect is going to design something as tremendous in scale as a sky scraper and not take into account such obvious needs as space and support for root structures? | Thay are not yet finished. I drive under those building every day and are in constucton. So the picture is not real |  It's a noble idea. However, after a few years, the water and critters associated with plants will start to erode the building. Water is especially insidious at making its way into anything and will cause problems. | You guys are dumb... You seriously don't think that they thought about the roots? The trees played on this building probably are small trees... Which have less root structure, thus eliminating the problem of root damage.... Think bonsai.... |  I see these buildings almost every day, a lot of trees have already been planted, the catch is that an apartment there is expensive as hell |  Only problem is pruning the trees and bushes.. what do you do with all the leaves and branches? just throw them over the edge? And tree roots destroy concrete too so controlling that properly is going to be difficult | Now we just need to genetically modify a tree to grow large and strong, then carve out the center when it grows large enough and live there.
Then give ourselves pointed ears, use bows and swords, and fire lightning out of our hands. |  For those questioning it's photoshop, just do a quick search, you'll see it's out there and real. They used a rendered photo because it's still under construction, and not planted with trees yet. | The pictures aren't real because it isn't built yet, as it clearly says in the caption. And I'm sure the engineers considered roots and water and all those other basic ideas at the initial planning stage, you know, because they're highly qualified professionals. |  Love it. Hope it works---in that construction can bear the weight. Will certainly keep birds from flying into windows too (which birds see as continuous space). | I live in Milan. Just think this: Boeri projects vertical forests but the city has few green areas except from some park. Milan is so grey, we need parks not this shit that is only ment to make Boeri's ego happy |  I love the idea but what if there's a fire? Wouldn't that also cause a lot of environmental impact? I imagine something akin to the forest fires in Indonesia... | What if we just build humongous air filters. This is a cool idea though...but I am sure it will run into issues when the trees mature. | I saw this on How Do They Do It, and they explained how they engineered it to sustain high winds and prevent root damage. | The roots will not damage the structure. Have you heard of a green roof? They implement a specialized root-barrier layer to prevent any possible damage. | 50 million acres of rainforest are cut down every year, I'm sure that 10,000 square meters will make up for that | Highly qualified professionals also thought the titanic was unsinkable. It's a cool idea I just don't see this being practical. | How optimistic you are!! The buildings are in Milano, near Garibaldi station, and they will both be ready for Expo...which is the reason why the city has money for those and many other amazing buildings and infrastructures.. | The only problem I foresee is if a severe storm came through and blew down some of those trees. That would be an extreme danger to someone living near and/or below the towers. |  I'm sure that the engineers designing this masterpiece are intelligent enough to factor in all the potential problems that any of you people can think of to criticize people who are actually TRYING to make positive changes in the world. | Guys i see it growing under my eyes, it's impressive, trees are still quite young, BUT the look is astonishing!!!! NEVER seen a building comparable... | Better be small trees, root structure and water destroy even concrete. What about a high wind day that knocks a tree off the 20th story? Won't ever happen in USA, not with our building and safety codes. |  surely there will become a point where the trees that are there are going to be too big and heavy that the structure cannot support them? | Seriously use your brains before you comment you fuck tards, everything you "keyboard warrior architects" are commenting has been thought of, planned and designed professionally with council consent, of course they thought about the fucking roots!!!!!! | Before you say "What about the (roots | weight | fire hazard)?" take a moment to pause and consider what structural engineers do for a living. | I watched a documentary on this. The designers have more than made sure those plants and trees are not going anywhere, even in the most extreme storms. | It just shows you the unlimited potential of the human imagination. Too bad it's so often wasted on outdated, status quo bullshit. | This is amazing if it's what you want. Some people would deal with the bugs and birds in exchange for the beauty and privacy, it's a nightmare for others. To each his own, at least this is technically beneficial to all. |  Great idea but what about weathering especially with plant roots releasing acids with hydrogen ions, breaking down the material it was built on?
Also would you have to fertilize the ground all the time? the rain and wind together with gravity would sweep off all the nutrients to the ground near by and maybe enter water ways causing nitrogen pollution/runoff causing dead zones with no fish.
I'm just asking this to learn about the construction. | Great idea, I just hope that this doesn't provide a pathway to the ideology of building artificial habitat to the sky's for wild animals. This doesn't nearly support the same ecosystems, we should be the ones living compactly. I really think this can be a great thing for some wildlife species but will effect the balance of the ecosystem. | Cool concept but what about all the pests and Birds on it? Also I am curious about structure's integrity as trees grow older and bigger with residents and their household adding more weight over time? | What about the root systems how are they going to counter act that? Trees have a very large and sometimes deep root system. What's to stop them from growing through the floor and compromising the structural integrity of the building? Also, what about water? What kinda of system is going to be used? | I have no idea exactly how it could be done on that scale but it is possible to make plants self-prune roots and direct root growth. It would be an amazing feat to accomplish that with this structure though. Future generations are going to chop it down in the future as the supplies drop so there's just going to be plain apartment blocks and some very cold Italians | Won't that attract unwanted fowl & other critters nesting in the bushes outside? On the lower levels im sure woodland creatures will hide there. And before to long, im sure snakes will follow. | The roots simply stop after they fill the container they are in which limits the tree size. On solid poured concrete it's not an issue. They likely add a layer of membrane at the bottom of the containers as well. Roots are a problem for sidewalk areas because they grow down the gaps. This system has already been done before in many places including Tokyo, just not on such a large building. | Obviously maintenance was considered in the Design, there are many different breeds of tree that have small roots. They didn't erect two tall buildings without thinking of the longevity and maintenance of it. | Again, for those of you naysayers, there've been rooftop gardens for 100s of years, and balconies and roof membranes are planned to be replaced in home owners' associations all the time. Almost nothing here is new. It needs to be implemented correctly is all. | My only concern with this is that then many people will be lulled into chopping more forest down going "its okay I'll build a carbon neutral vertical forest (and make more money off extortionate rent)!"
Then there is no habitat for wildlife... | I predicted this when I noticed the jetsons never go to the ground. Why? Because the ground is covered with trash. How do we grow food? On vertical farms. | They aren't huge trees - they are obviously dwarf varieties. Too bad they didn't plant fruit trees. And good lord - most people have shrubberies next to their houses... I don't have a problem with birds or creatures. | I'm sure the engineers and builders and others involved picked trees and shrubs that only grow to certain heights and certain depths with their roots. Seriously people you truly think they didn't take any of that into consideration? | People, you have the equivalent of a 10,000 square meter Forrest on a 5000 square meter plot max. also the roots will be contained guys, so they will not take over and finally a tree will only grow larger if you give it more room for roots to grow but as there won't be room for them to do so the trees won't grow too big. C'mon | Cool looking but it will be impossible to maintain. Wonder what thy are doing about drainage? How do manage tree trimming in 5-7 years when trees are mature? How do you remove a dead or decaying mature tree? How do you contain a tree parasite or fungus? | I've seen this before and i still have no idea what will they do about the roots. Nature has proven before roots can break asphalt, concrete and other hard stuff. I suppose the roots will hold the building together after some time  | Great concept but why such tall buildings? Most container plants struggle to stay live and if keep them alive, then there's the weight of the saturated soil plus water run off along with any strong winds causing plants to sway which would be more stress again on the building. And inside looks as if really dark so would need to use artificial lights more. Hmm maybe best for pretend land |  Everything would have been considered. Just looking at picture makes me wonder how much natural light they get inside the building The vegetation is great but if you have to use artificial lighting inside that's not so great | The only real issue is the types of trees required to be sustainable at high altitudes aren't exactly fashion friendly. Lol while not a major issue. For a fashion capital it could be one | People keep saying that the container will stop the roots from growing any further than room allows. But have you ever seem a tree growing in a crack or whole in a rock? It breaks the rock and keeps growing. So i dont know about that. It has to be the type of trees and shrubs they use.  You guys ask a lotta really dumb questions, trying to think you're smart. What about bugs?! Really? No normal house is built on dirt, surrounded by trees. Why is everyone retarded? That's my big question. I think this is the most wonderful building I have ever seen...
On my large apartment patio, I have quite a few trees & large plants in large pots. They have been in them for about 8 years now, the roots have not broken through the pots and also trees/plants growth size are limited to their root capacity (a pot size limits root growth therefore plant size). The plants and trees in this building will have been planted into constructed planters, there by (just as in my plants) containing root spread and plant size...
As for all the bugs and stuff .. They are minimal and beautiful, I sincerely doubt you will have a plague of spiders,bugs,birds or anything else invading your home. I have yet to experience this in my home even though I have so many plants right by my doors and windows. After all how do people with actual gardens survive without being over run by bugs from their grass & plants?