Latest news with #StefanoBoeri
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
'A home for trees and birds, and also humans': How high-rise forests can transform city life – and make us happier
It's been 10 years since the creation of the first vertical forest, Milan's Bosco Verticale. How has it inspired other buildings – and affected their residents' happiness and health? In 2007, Italian architect Stefano Boeri witnessed the frantic construction of a city in the Dubai desert dominated by energy-wasting skyscrapers covered in glass, ceramic and metal. All these materials, he tells the BBC, "reflected sunlight, generating heat in the air and especially on the urban ground, where pedestrians walked". Three thousand miles away, he had just begun working on his own design for two very tall buildings in a neglected area of northern Milan. "Suddenly, it occurred to me to create two biological towers… covered not with glass, but with leaves," he says. The design would invite fauna and flora into this industrial wasteland and cool the air inside and out, offering a radical new architectural prototype that, he explains, "integrates living nature as a constitutive part of it". The startling result was the world's first "vertical forest". The multi-award-winning design is now 10 years old, its plants maintained by "flying gardeners" harnessed to the side of the buildings, and its occupants up to three degrees cooler, as the foliage releases water vapour and filters the sunlight. To mark this anniversary, architectural firm Stefano Boeri Architetti has released a new book, Bosco Verticale: Morphology of a Vertical Forest, featuring essays by leading voices working at the intersection of nature and architecture, alongside images by architectural photographer Iwan Baan. The book traces the evolution of the project and the principles it espouses, and, say the publishers, Rizzoli "celebrates an architectural work that has become the symbol of a renewed collective sensibility toward care for the environment and the plant world". In a reversal of the usual architectural hierarchies, the book describes the vertical forest as "a home for trees and birds, that also houses humans". It draws on philosophies and texts that have influenced it, such as The Secret Life of Trees (2006) by British biologist Colin Tudge, a work that explains the crucial role trees play in our lives in sequestering carbon, producing glucose and providing shade. It also quotes the British ethologist Dame Jane Goodall. As populations increase, she asserts, "it is desperately important that this growth should be accompanied by new incentives to bring the natural world into existing cities and into the planning of new ones". Since the completion of Milan's Vertical Forest, a green wave of plant-rich construction has begun reintroducing nature into our cities, from Dubai to Denver, Colorado; Antwerp to Arlington, Virginia; with Africa's first vertical forest scheduled to break ground in Cairo later this year. Answering critics who doubted the concept's affordability is the Trudo Vertical Forest in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (completed 2021), a social housing project with a rent cap of €600 (£510) per month. A sense of connection Over in Montpellier, France, a third of The Secret Gardens − a forested residential development designed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Paris, and due for completion later this year − will be reserved for affordable housing. In integrating practices such as rooftop agriculture and water recycling, The Secret Gardens also "addresses the climate crisis by restoring the human-nature connection", Vincent Callebaut tells the BBC. "By transforming residents into urban gardeners and façades into carbon sinks, this building demonstrates that ecology isn't a constraint but a lifestyle philosophy," he says. The power of these extraordinary structures to alter how people live and feel is central to their design. One of Vincent Callebaut Architectures' latest designs is The Rainbow Tree (Cebu, Philippines), inspired by the psychedelic colours of the native Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree's bark. But the "tree" requires the collaboration of the residents of each of its 300 apartments to maintain its striking flora. This, along with its shared greenhouses and urban beehives, helps "foster social bonds", says Callebaut, creating a sense of community and connection. More like this:• The retro space-age homes that still inspire today• Why these 1970s cabins are 'the perfect holiday home'• The pioneering building that scandalised Paris This notion that biophilic design (design that draws on humans' innate connection with nature) can positively affect our wellbeing is supported by recent research. A study undertaken by Wageningen University in the Netherlands reported that the presence of plants in a work environment not only improved the attractiveness of the workspace, but also increased employee satisfaction. Workers also noticed the enhanced air quality and reported fewer health-related complaints. In Wales, a 10-year study looking at the presence of anxiety and depression in 2.3 million medical records, found that the greenest home surroundings were associated with 40% less anxiety and depression than those living in the least green areas. People in poorer areas benefitted the most, with access to green spaces and water reducing the risk of anxiety and depression by 10% (6% in wealthier areas). It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that biophilic concepts are being commissioned for new hospitals. Callebaut's Hospiwood 21, in La Louvière, Belgium, says the architect, "incorporates therapeutic vertical forests using greenery to reduce patient stress and enhance recovery", and is furnished with a soothing biophilic interior full of cascading plants. Meanwhile, in Italy, Stefano Boeri's New Policlinico Hospital Milan will feature a rooftop garden of more than 7,000 square metres. Biophilia is part of a rethinking of care facilities, says Boeri, that "opens up a new perspective on rehabilitation, going beyond the traditional concept of a facility for the mere long-term care of patients and becoming a true space of interaction and wellbeing in close contact with nature". In fact, the green tendrils of biophilic design are creeping into a huge range of buildings. Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore's 10-storey leisure and retail complex, has been open to both air passengers and visitors since 2019, and boasts lush indoor forests comprising 1,400 trees, as well as the world's tallest indoor waterfall (40m). In Amsterdam, the sustainable bamboo interior of the Hotel Jakarta (founded 2018) features a tropical garden in its central atrium that, quenched by rainwater from the roof, is fast advancing towards its 30-metre high ceiling. An hour away in Rotterdam, a rooftop forest, almost 40m above ground level, crowns The Depot, a publicly accessible storage facility for the vast art collection of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, and shaped like a giant mirrored cauldron. As well as lifting our spirits, high-rise forests can play an important role in tackling climate change. Vincent Callebaut's Tao Zhu Yin Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan, a 21-floor tower that is shaped like DNA's double helix, was completed in 2024. Its 23,000 plants absorb an estimated 130 tons of CO2 each year, and their cooling effect on the façade reduces the need for air conditioning by 30%. The building features rotating balconies to maximise sun exposure, while the ventilation chimneys at its core reflects Callebaut's interest in biomimicry (the emulation of nature's systems to provide solutions to human problems) and function much like a lung, drawing in air at its base, purifying it, and then expelling it at the top. Far taller than they are wide, high-rise forests also minimise soil sealing, freeing up land for nature and reducing flood risk. "My projects embody a vision where cities are no longer climate problems but living solutions," says Callebaut. Far from nature being "an obstacle or ornamental afterthought", it's the guiding principle of the design. Buildings now act, he says, as "inhabited trees… that absorb CO2, produce energy, and shelter biodiversity". Responding to two major contemporary crises, global warming and declining mental health, biophilic buildings are already being envisaged as part of entirely forested cities. In Liuzhou in China's Guangxi province, one of the world's worst regions for smog, Stefano Boeri's futuristic Forest City, housing around 30,000 inhabitants and generating all of its own energy, has been approved and is awaiting construction; while the firm's Cancun Smart Forest City in Mexico, which plans to prohibit combustion-powered vehicles, is also awaiting starter's orders. Back in Milan, the building that began it all, with its rooftop solar panels, is indisputably tree-like, harvesting its energy from the sun and drawing up groundwater. "Nature is not something that exists in an immemorial past," writes author and philosopher Emanuele Coccia in the book. "It is and will always be our technological future." As for Boeri, the twin vertical forests he brought to life in Milan are not just buildings, he writes, but "a political manifesto" with "a simple and popular message: living nature has to return to inhabit the spaces conceived for humans. No more, no less". Bosco Verticale: Morphology of a Vertical Forest is edited by Stefano Boeri Architetti and published by Rizzoli. -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Milan's Triennale Museum Opens 24th International Exhibition Dedicated to Inequalities
MILAN — From cities to spaces and from bodies to lives, Triennale di Milano museum president Stefano Boeri stressed Monday that everyone is born unequal. The museum's 24th International Exhibition, which has taken place every three years since 1923, invited countries and artists, architects, researchers and designers around the world to showcase examples supporting the main theme. More from WWD Celebrity Fashion Matchmaker Lucio Di Rosa Is Coming to New York Boggi Milano Sets U.S. Retail Rollout, Starts With NYC Exploring Colony's Unique Design Gallery Model as Founder Embarks on Largest Group Show With contributions from 43 countries, the exhibition explores themes such as solutions to the housing crisis with 'Towards an Equal Future,' urban inequality with 'Cities' and the relationship between architecture and microbiology with an installation called 'We the Bacteria.' The exhibition path of 'Cities' opened here Monday with one of the most unforgettable examples of inequalities, the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in London in 2017, with an installation curated and narrated by Grenfell Next of Kin. It then unfolds across video, photos, models, installations and even patchwork quilts by the Grenfell Memorial Quilts community, with tributes to those who were killed. The installation highlights how 85 percent of the victims belonged to ethnic minorities. 'We speak to ghettos and wars: the most extreme manifestations of inequality so rigid and profoundly unjust that they become instruments of cruelty and even death,' Boeri said. On the first floor of the museum, an exhibit highlights the aging process. Curated by Nic Palmarini, director of the U.K. National Innovation Centre for Ageing, and Marco Sammicheli, director of the Italian design museum Museo del Design Italiano of Triennale Milano, 'The Republic of Longevity' emphasizes the need for systemic change, focusing specifically on the possibilities for an aging population. 'We have a longer life compared to our parents and grandparents…, but we have much more cases of cancer and diseases,' said Sammicheli, during a preview, pointing to books on longevity and a shelving system designed by late designer James Irvine. The shelves house mementos that tell the story of him and his widow, architect Marialaura Irvine, who continues his legacy and Studio Irvine. 'The Republic of Longevity' is divided into five key dimensions that promote healthy aging: eating and drinking healthily, sleeping well, staying active, keeping the mind engaged and supported by a purpose, and cultivating meaningful social connections. Elsewhere 'Tiamat,' created for the Design Doha biennial in Qatar, explored new ways of using stone in contemporary architecture, as evidenced by arches around the Middle East. The latest evolution of Stone Matters, a research project by Bethlehem-based Aau Anastas founded by Elias and Yousef Anastas, and which collaborates with Palestinian artisans, promotes responsible quarrying and resilient city-building in response to widespread destruction. Running through Nov. 9, the exhibition features 20 National Pavilions special projects by American artist and professor Theaster Gates, architectural historian Beatriz Colomina, the Norman Foster architectural foundation and Swiss curator and critic Hans Ulrich Obrist The last International Exhibition took place in 2022. The 23rd International Exhibition was titled 'Unknown Unknowns. An Introduction to Mysteries' and included a series of projects curated by astrophysicist Ersilia Vaudo and Burkinabè architect and 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Francis Kéré, among others. Best of WWD Celebrity Style at Coachella Through the Years: Taylor Swift, Amy Winehouse and More [PHOTOS] From John Galliano to Paul Smith, Designers Who've Created Christmas Trees at Claridge's The Most Over-the-top Hats From the Royal Ascot Races Through the Years
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Architect is revolutionizing the industry with 'vertical forest' concept for high-rise homes: 'Best ... in the world'
Italian architect Stefano Boeri is bringing nature into big cities with his "vertical forest" concept for sustainable high-rise homes, which promote urban biodiversity and improve the quality of life for residents. 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.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italian architect Stefano Boeri wins MIPIM Awards 2025 for vertical forest in Utrecht
Italian architect Stefano Boeri and his studio have won the MIPIM award in the Best Mix-Use Project category for their Wonderwoods Vertical Forest building in the Netherlands. The award, presented at the annual MIPIM international real estate trade show held in Cannes, recognises the most 'useful, sustainable and visionary projects' in the real estate industry. Located in Utrecht, Wonderwoods Vertical Forest is a 104-metre tower that includes 360 trees and 50,000 plants on its façades, the 'equivalent to the vegetation of a hectare of forest.' The project aims to improve the quality of life in the area, by enhancing biodiversity and absorbing carbon dioxide. 'This is a real urban ecosystem, a haven for the biodiversity of living species', the Stefano Boeri Architetti studio said in a statement. The high-rise, which opened in February, is the first vertical forest in the Netherlands to incorporate both apartments and public spaces, including services and commercial areas. '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 on 13 March. Stefano Boeri is known for his innovate urban forestry designs. One of his most famous projects is the Bosco Verticale – literally the "Vertical Forest" – two residential towers covered in vegetation, built in Milan. Completed in 2014, the creation received worldwide recognition in the architecture community, winning the 2014 International Highrise Award and the 2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide. Stefano Boeri went on to replicate his design all over the world. In 2021, he opened the Trudo Vertical Forest in the Netherlands, applying for the first time his concept to a social housing complex. The Stefano Boeri Architetti studio also has ongoing projects in China and Dubai. 'I try to promote urban forestation because that's what we need," Boeri told Euronews in 2021. "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.'
Euronews
18-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Italian architect Stefano Boeri wins award for Dutch vertical forest
Italian architect Stefano Boeri and his studio have won the MIPIM award in the Best Mix-Use Project category for their Wonderwoods Vertical Forest building in the Netherlands. The award, presented at the annual MIPIM international real estate trade show held in Cannes, recognises the most 'useful, sustainable and visionary projects' in the real estate industry. Located in Utrecht, Wonderwoods Vertical Forest is a 104-metre tower that includes 360 trees and 50,000 plants on its façades, the 'equivalent to the vegetation of a hectare of forest.' The project aims to improve the quality of life in the area, by enhancing biodiversity and absorbing carbon dioxide. 'This is a real urban ecosystem, a haven for the biodiversity of living species', the Stefano Boeri Architetti studio said in a statement. The high-rise, which opened in February, is the first vertical forest in the Netherlands to incorporate both apartments and public spaces, including services and commercial areas. '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 on 13 March. Stefano Boeri is known for his innovate urban forestry designs. One of his most famous projects is the Bosco Verticale – literally the "Vertical Forest" – two residential towers covered in vegetation, built in Milan. Completed in 2014, the creation received worldwide recognition in the architecture community, winning the 2014 International Highrise Award and the 2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide. Stefano Boeri went on to replicate his design all over the world. In 2021, he opened the Trudo Vertical Forest in the Netherlands, applying for the first time his concept to a social housing complex. The Stefano Boeri Architetti studio also has ongoing projects in China and Dubai. 'I try to promote urban forestation because that's what we need," Boeri told Euronews in 2021. "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.'
