It’s not that easy being green

The iconic Bosco Verticale – or Vertical Forest – completed in 2014 by Stefano Boeri Architects in Milan, Italy, is arguably one of the most recognisable buildings of the last decade. It is often used as inspirational imagery for the green building movement due to its pioneering incorporation of a vertical forest into 44 storeys across two towers.

With the release of WorldGBC’s report ‘Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront’ which calls for urgent action to address embodied and upfront carbon, we are taking a closer look at this ground breaking project: exploring the benefits of its sustainability features and how it dealt with the challenge of considering whole lifecycle emissions, both operational and embodied; the trade-offs and co-benefits, and lessons for future projects.

Bosco Verticale is a fantastic example of a building that encapsulates the themes of 2019’s World Green Building Week ‘Building Life’ campaign, with its innovative ways of thinking to create its stunning green façade. The two residential towers are home to 2,280 m² of trees and shrubs, presenting a soft green shell rather than typical urban concrete, brick or glass. With a ratio of two trees, eight shrubs and 40 bushes for each occupant, the building is championed as a “tower for trees, occupied by humans”.