A unique sustainable ‘vertical forest’ will enliven one of Europe’s most built-up cities. The upcoming ‘Wonderwoods’ towers will provide a home for people in a reality-defying way, as well as 360 trees and shrubs on the outside, and the biodiversity it will attract. This is a story about changing the way we live.
Image MVSA Architects
The Netherlands and the world are about to gain another unique space for urban living full of sustainability. Because developers are contructing two huge towerblocks right in the middle of one of the most built up countries of the world….with living trees and shrubs on its side.
The two sustainable green towers of Wonderwoods are being created on the doorstep of Utrecht Central Station. It doesn’t get much more sustainable than that? Well, co-creator Stefano Boeri from Italy, has indicated it intends to create a prototype building for a new type of architectural biodiversity. And so, together with co-designer MVSA Architects, the architect company will make sure this new way of building will focus not only on human beings, but also on the relationship between humans and other living species.
Stony environment
“Many city developers have been pursuing the policy of a compact, dense development. They have done so to help absorb the pressure on the housing market,” Wonderwoods landscape architect Timo Cents told us. “The disadvantage of this strategy,” he continued, “is that residents are living increasingly distant from nature.” One thing this has meant is that we seem to have lost our connection with the seasons. “We don’t notice whether it’s hot or cold outside, and we sit indoors when it rains,” said Cents. “Greenery is a far-away concept in this stony environment,” he added.
So, the Wonderwoods towers are set to enable urban dwellers to live in a way that is rich in sustainability. Its greenery will be able to support improved local air quality among their otherwise stony environment. It will help dampen city sounds for it inhabitants, offer them shade in the summer and protection against the elements in the winter.
Sustainable high-rises
But hang on. Trees on a building? And a tall one at that? “We took the Utrechtse Heuvelrug as an example, and we have opted for the types of greenery that have evolutionised for difficult conditions at higher levels. Think of the rowan, oak, gorse or pine,” said Cents. He also told us that the roots will be placed in special ways, and that abseiling gardeners will take care of this project of urban sustainability.
And so, the design can be seen as a step forward in the way that humans live, with each other and with other species. Said Cents: “I see these green high-rises as a type of high, mountainous area. I imagine just as birds will look at it and see a nutrient-rich rocky landscape. The natural tree line is at 2,000 meters, so why should we limit ourselves to ground level when building such an environment?”
“I see these green high-rises as a type of high, mountainous area. I imagine just as birds will look at it and see a nutrient-rich rocky landscape.”
Vertical Forest: A home for everyone
The Vertical Forest is the prototype building for a new format of architectural biodiversity. Its focus is on the relationship between humans and other living species. The concept behind the Vertical Forest is: A home for trees that also houses humans and birds.
A similar version of it was first built in Milan. It consists of two towers of 80 and 112 metres high. Together they house 800 trees, 15,000 perennials and 5,000 shrubs: equivalent to 30,000 square metres of woodland and shrubs.
As a plant-based shield, the tower does not reflect or magnify the sun’s rays, but filters them. It also creates a welcome internal microclimate. At the same time, the green curtain regulates humidity, produces oxygen and absorbs CO2 and microparticles.
Source: Stefano Boeri Architetti
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