Architect is revolutionizing the industry with 'vertical forest' concept for high-rise homes: 'Best ... in the world'
The innovative, eco-friendly dwellings have earned Boeri and his studio the 2025 MIPIM award in the Best Mix-Use Project category for their Wonderwoods project, located in the heart of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Euronews explained that Wonderwoods is the first vertical forest in the Netherlands that features both apartments and public amenities, including dining areas, commercial spaces, and sports and leisure opportunities.
Opened in February, the 341-foot tall Wonderwoods houses 200 apartments that overlook the city center, but the building gives a new meaning to the term concrete jungle. It incorporates 360 trees and 50,000 plants into the balconies and façades, providing fresh, clean air for residents and also helping reduce stress.
Plus, the vegetation — equivalent to about 2.5 acres of forest, according to Boeri's architecture firm — absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, helping to cool the area near the building and benefiting the planet.
Wonderwoods Vertical Forest also attracts wildlife, including birds looking for shelter, a nesting spot, or a place to rest. As urban biodiversity is generally declining worldwide because of habitat loss, human expansion, and pollution, Wonderwoods will help restore balance to the local ecosystem and allow humans and animals to coexist peacefully.
"The recognition of the MIPIM Award as the best 'Mixed Use' building in the world, has captured the profoundly urban character of Wonderwoods: a multipurpose and highly biodiverse architecture, open to the daily life of the citizens, plants and birds of Utrecht," said architect Francesca Cesa Bianchi during the award ceremony, per Euronews.
According to the news outlet, Boeri's love for trees and nature goes back to his childhood when he read a book about a young man who abandoned city life and decided to live out his days in the forest. As Boeri got older, he realized cities just needed some regreening and envisioned building a "home for trees that also houses humans and birds," per his website, and that's when the vertical forest became a reality.
Vertical forests add texture and variety to otherwise drab, gray urban buildings, and they're also functional, bringing life and animal habitats back into the city landscape.
While Wonderwoods is the first multi-purpose vertical forest building, Boeri has already constructed several others, including the Bosco Verticale in Milan — the first of its kind designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti. The two towers boast 300 apartments, 21,000 trees, shrubs, and perennial plants, and around 1,600 birds and butterflies.
Do you think America is in a housing crisis?
Definitely
Not sure
No way
Only in some cities
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
In 2021, Boeri also opened the Trudo Vertical Forest in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, which caters to students, young couples, and anyone who needs affordable housing options. In addition, Euronews reported that Boeri is building more vertical forests in China and Dubai, both places that would benefit from more greenery in the densely packed cities.
"I try to promote urban forestation because that's what we need," Boeri previously told Euronews. "We have to multiply the number of trees everywhere. And the reasons are very clear. It's a faster, cheaper and more inclusive way to try to take down global warming."
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Epoch Times
Caponata
View the print-ready version of this recipe. Caponata is a traditional Sicilian eggplant dish made with sautéed vegetables, vinegar, capers, and raisins. Think of it as Sicily's version of ratatouille, but with a sweet and sour twist. This version was given to me by Gaetano Valente, an Italian chef and caterer, and it's perfection—with olive-oil-soaked eggplant, just the right mix of sweet, tangy, and salty, and a handful of toasted pine nuts for crunch. It's even better after a day in the fridge, so I love it for make-ahead meals, summer entertaining, or just having something delicious on hand for lunches and snacks.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Body of missing father found on melting glacier 28 years after he vanished
The family of a missing man whose body was discovered on a melting glacier in Pakistan after 28 years said Thursday its recovery had brought them some relief. The body of 31-year-old Nasiruddin was spotted by locals near the edge of the shrinking Lady Meadows glacier in the Kohistan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. His family said he and his brother had fled to the mountains after a dispute in their village in 1997 when he fell into a crevasse. His brother survived. "Our family left no stone unturned to trace him over the years," Malik Ubaid, the nephew of the deceased, told AFP over the phone. "Our uncles and cousins visited the glacier several times to see if his body could be retrieved, but they eventually gave up as it wasn't possible." Nasiruddin, who went by one name, was a husband and father of two children. His well-preserved body, still carrying an identity card, was found on July 31 by a local shepherd and buried on Wednesday. "The body was intact. The clothes were not even torn," Omar Khan, a local resident who found the remains, told BBC Urdu. Hi family expressed gratitude after the discovery. "Finally, we have got some relief after the recovery of his dead body," Ubaid said. Kohistan is a mountainous region where the outer reaches of the Himalayas stretch. Pakistan is home to more than 13,000 glaciers, more than anywhere else on Earth outside the poles. Rising global temperatures linked to human-driven climate change, however, are causing the glaciers to rapidly melt. Bodies exposed by melting glaciers in recent years As glaciers increasingly melt and recede around the world, there has been an increase in discoveries of the remains of hikers, skiers and other climbers who went missing decades ago. In July 2024, the preserved body of an American mountaineer was found 22 years after he disappeared while scaling a snowy peak in Peru was found. The month before that, five frozen bodies were retrieved from Mount Everest— including one that was just skeletal remains — as part of Nepal's mountain clean-up campaign on Everest and adjoining peaks Lhotse and Nuptse. In 2023, the remains of a German climber who went missing in 1986 were recovered on a glacier in the Swiss Alps. In 2017, Italian mountain rescue crews recovered the remains of hikers on a glacier on Mont Blanc's southern face likely dating from the 1980s or 1990s. Just a few weeks later, the remains of a climber discovered in the Swiss Alps were identified as a British mountaineer who went missing in 1971, local police said Thursday. That same year, a shrinking glacier in Switzerland revealed the bodies of a frozen couple who went missing in 1942. Police told local media that their bodies were discovered near a ski lift on the glacier by a worker for an adventure resort company. In 2016, the bodies of a renowned mountain climber and expedition cameraman who were buried in a Himalayan avalanche in 1999 were found partially melting out of a glacier. Sneak peek: The Strange Shooting of Alex Pennig Quadruple murder suspect captured in Tennessee, officials confirm Neil deGrasse Tyson weighs in on plans for a moon-based nuclear reactor Solve the daily Crossword
Epoch Times
5 days ago
- Epoch Times
Hold the Mayo: A Potato Salad Recipe That's Perfect for Picnics
Potato salad, a signature summer dish, is defined by its maker. My grandmother's salad was substantially swathed in mayo, while a German aunt crowned hers with crisped bacon and plenty of dill. My neighbor tosses in olives, tomatoes, and peppers for a light, bright Italian twist. It's one of the easiest dishes to make, but success depends on a few basic tenets—starting with the right potato.
