two vertical forests by stefano boeri architetti take root in china

two ‘vertical forests’ designed by stefano boeri architetti (SBA) are growing in china, with the first trees planted at construction sites in both huanggang and nanjing. the ‘easyhome huanggang vertical forest city complex’ — previously featured on designboom here — is located in huanggang, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from wuhan in china’s hubei province. here, a crane has just lifted the building’s first tree 90 meters (almost 300 feet) above ground to the 25th floor. in total, each of the development’s towers will comprise 395 trees, 3,600 shrubs, and 12,000 perennial plants.

huanggang vertical forest | all images and video courtesy of stefano boeri architetti

trees have also started to reach the balconies of the nanjing vertical forest, 300 kilometers (186 miles) from shanghai. previously featured on designboom here, the development comprises two towers that SBA says will host a total of 27 native plant species, 600 large trees, 200 medium-sized trees, and over 2,500 shrubs and hanging plants. this greenery will contribute to the regeneration of local biodiversity and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by about 18 tons, while producing up to 16.5 tons of oxygen every year.

huanggang vertical forest

the first tower is 200 meters tall (656 feet) and will be crowned with a green ‘lantern’ — an enclosure covered with creepers. this structure will be used for offices from the 5th to the 35th floors and will also include a museum, a green architecture school, and a private rooftop club. the second tower, 108 meters in height (354 feet), will include a 305-key hotel and a swimming pool on its fourth floor. the inauguration of both projects is scheduled for 2021.

huanggang vertical forest

‘we are delighted that the vertical forest concept is starting to spread throughout china,’ says stefano boeri. ‘the huanggang and nanjing towers — as was the case for the first vertical forest built in milan in 2014 — are destined to become a reference model for sustainable green architecture in china and other south east asian countries.’

huanggang vertical forest

‘with the construction of the vertical forests of nanjing and huanggang, our study has shown that it is possible — even in the heart of the great asian metropolises — to construct buildings capable of absorbing CO2 and fine dust particles generated by heating and traffic as well as reducing energy consumption for indoor air conditioning,’ adds yibo xu, stefano boeri’s partner at SBA china.

huanggang vertical forest

‘our attention is constantly focused on the native flora of the regions in which we operate; we are looking for interesting species that are often little used in traditional gardening,’ comments laura gatti, the agronomist in charge of botanical development for SBA’s vertical forests. ‘in huanggang, our botanical research has focused on species native to the hubei region and many of the plants that we currently cultivate in our parks and gardens, and that we europeans know well, have come to europe from here.’

huanggang vertical forest

‘although these species and varieties are well known to us, several of the species selected for huanggang have been cultivated specifically for this project, since they are not found in nurseries in their regions of origin as they are considered too ‘wild’,’ gatti continues. ‘their introduction adds value to the project in terms of biodiversity, attractiveness and identity. the exchange of experiences and knowledge between us and our chinese colleagues is undoubtedly a reason for mutual expansion following the route laid out by the architect stefano boeri.’ see other projects by stefano boeri architetti on designboom here.

huanggang vertical forest

huanggang vertical forest

huanggang vertical forest — see more on designboom here

nanjing vertical forest

nanjing vertical forest

nanjing vertical forest

nanjing vertical forest — see more on designboom here

project info:

nanjing vertical forest —
architects: stefano boeri architetti
location: pukou, nanjing, jiangsu, china
partner: stefano boeri, yibo xu
project director: pietro chiodi
concept design team: carolina boccella (project architect); giulia chiatante, agostino bucci, mario tang shilong
preliminary and construction design team: bao yinxin (project architect), huang zhiyang, sebastiano cattiodoro, liu juan, huang yitao, cecilia picello, fei yifan
vegetation design coordinator: du jinye
project coordinator
: gong ting
vegetation consultant: laura gatti, slg
structural consultant: luca buzzoni, arup (italy)
investor: nanjing yang zi state-owned investment group co. ltd
local design institution: nanjing yangzi river urban architectural design, co. ltd.
local nursery: nanjing zhong shan nursery, co. ltd.; daqian ecological landscape co., ltd.
project year: 2016-2018 (design phase), 2018-2021 (construction phase)

easyhome huanggang vertical forest city complex —
architects: stefano boeri architetti
location: huanggang, china
partner: stefano boeri, yibo xu
project director: pietro chiodi
design team
: huang yitao (project architect), 
lei siyu, fei yifan, bao yinxin, huang zhiyang, liu yifan, liu juan, yu qingxuan, cui lei, yuan jialun, jiang linhong
landscape design: du jinye, xu luojia, huang yitao, liu juan, huang zhiyang, fei yifan, mohamed hassan ali elgendy, mohamed yasser amirghany ali elsarif, zhang changjiang

client: easyhome group

architecture: entral-south architectural design institute co. ltd
landscape: hzadi.co. ltd
structural consultant: luca buzzoni, arup (italy)
plant consultant: laura gatti, slg
nursery company: landscape architecture corporation of china
construction company: china construction third engineering bureau co. ltd
curtain wall company: forster