Boeri Studio designed the Vertical Forest in Milano, Italy, completed in 2014. Two residential towers rise 80m and 112m. Shrubberies fill platforms of a variety of size to give the image of a forest. This exterior screen of vegetation is designed with the deck height in mind in order to block the summer sun and allow in the winter sun, and also to mitigate breezes and noise. The decks are painted white and the rest of the black in order to emphasize these cantilevered platforms of nature.
This clever screen of shrubberies changes appearance as the seasons change. The yellows and brown of Fall blend in to the brownish roofs of traditional Italian buildings nearby. The green of Spring blend into the large lawn the effaces the building.
The big challenge is upkeep. A robust, expensive irrigation system is needed, along with hanging teams of gardeners. I imagine just trimming the leaves takes considerable effort.
(Debris2008– flickr/creative commons license)
(Ale Desiderio– flickr/creative commons license)
(pollobarca2– flickr/creative commons license)
(Kent Wang– flickr/creative commons license)
(Josef Grunig– flickr/creative commons license)
(Alessandro Bonvini– flickr/creative commons license)
