<
https://worldsensorium.com/the-greening-of-milan-porta-nuova-and-vertical-forest/>
"One of the cities leading the way in embracing sustainability and
environmentally friendly urban design is Milan. When walking through the city’s
streets, it is immediately evident that the emphasis is placed on letting the
natural world co-exist with its urban surroundings. The streets are lined with
plants and trees that have been allowed to grow freely and there are
significant architectural efforts to incorporate nature into the fabric of the
city, using natural resources to reduce its carbon footprint.
The most innovative contemporary area transforming Milan’s greenness is the
biophilic urban redevelopment project Porta Nuova, which boasts the city’s
largest neighborhood park known as BAM (Biblioteca degli Alberi). The park
features over 450 trees, including beautiful Red Maples (
Acer rubrum) and
White Poplar (
Populus alba) and is surrounded by Switchgrass (
Panicum
virgatum). A circular forest of Weeping willow (
Salix babylonica)
encompasses a family area. There is a vast wildflower field with such a wide
array of plants it is used as a teaching library. Tatarian aster (
Aster
tataricus) Crown daisy (
Glebionis coronaria) Common mallow (
Malva
sylvestris), Flax (
Linum usitatissimum) and Curly duck (
Rumrx crispus),
along with Yellow Indian grass, make up this stunning landscaped meadow of
native plants, arranged with an eye for color and texture. Birds, butterflies,
and pollinators add to the serenity as they go about their work.
Porta Nuova district’s most stunning example of biophilic design is the
award-winning Vertical Forest (Bosco Verticale), which was finished in 2014. It
comprises two highrise residential buildings, 276 and 381 feet high, covered in
800 trees and 15,000 shrubs and perennial plants (90 species) in what the
architects of Boeri Studio (Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, and Giovanni La
Varre) call a “living façade.” The vegetation on the two towers is equivalent
to 7.5 acres of forest and undergrowth that is producing oxygen and absorbing
CO2."
Via Esther Schindler.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
