trudo vertical forest film looks at stefano boeri's tree-clad social housing tower in eindhoven

stefano boeri presents the first social housing vertical forest

in the dutch city of eindhoven, stefano boeri architetti recently completed trudo tower, the first social housing vertical forest in the world. the 19-storey residential building measures 70 meters (230 feet) in height and features 135 trees of various species on each of its four facades, as well as 10,000 shrubs and plants of smaller dimensions. the tower hosts 125 apartments all with affordable rents designed to accommodate predominantly low-income users, and especially young couples. the video above compiles a three-episode series documenting the project’s key aspects under the themes: green; construction; and vision. 

‘the trudo tower in eindhoven represents the achievement of a great goal for all of us, namely that of making the vertical forest typology of building (something which we are experimenting with in different parts of the world) accessible even for tenants with low incomes; this is to show that living in contact with trees and greenery – and enjoying their advantages – is not the prerogative of rich people but could well become a possible choice for millions of citizens around the world,’ says stefano boeri.

all images by paolo rosselli

video by the blink fish

trudo vertical forest opens in eindhoven

the trudo vertical forest comes seven years after the inauguration of stefano boeri architetti‘s world-famous bosco verticale in milan (see designboom’s coverage here). the project marks the very first social housing tower of its kind, and features a total of 125 apartments, each measuring less than 50 sqm. however, each flat is expanded by terraces of more than four sqm, while the natural micro-environment created by the presence of one tree and 20 bushes on each balcony contributes to a pleasant atmosphere inside each home. low-income users, especially young couples, make up most of the building’s residents (most of whom have already received the key to their homes), while thirty flats have been reserved for the socially disadvantaged, asylum seekers, political refugees and people with disabilities. 

as requested by the client, the sint-trudo social housing company, one of the project’s essential elements was the reduction of construction costs – a key parameter for the creation of a social housing building. stefano boeri architetti applied all the knowhow and experience acquired during the construction of the very first vertical forest in milan, combined with the latest generation construction technologies, the prefabrication of the main part of the building, the rationalization of certain technical solutions for the facades and more generally, the optimization of resources related to the project and the construction of the building. ‘thanks to the use of prefabrication, to the rationalization of certain technical facade solutions and therefore to the optimization of resources, the vertical forest of trudo achieves economic sustainability, essential element in buildings intended for social housing,’ says architect francesca cesa bianchi, partner and project director at stefano boeri architetti.

for aspects related to the design of the organic component of the trudo vertical forest, the architects made use of technical advice provided by laura gatti studio, with whom they have worked before on the milan vertical forest and other ongoing urban forestation projects. in this case, the gatti studio also worked closely with the dupré groenprojecten studio in helmond and the van den berk nursery in sint-oedenrode. the maintenance of the entire complex, including the plants, is collective and managed directly by sint trudo while the specific maintenance of the greenery is carried out at considerable heights by a team of flying gardeners.

trudo marks the first social housing vertical forest in the world

four sqm terraces expand the size of each flat

one tree and 20 bushes are located on each balcony

project info:

name: trudo vertical forest

architect: stefano boeri architetti

client: sint-trudo

founding partner: stefano boeri
partner in charge and project director: francesca cesa bianchi
project leader: paolo russo
team: giulia chiatante, lorenzo masotto, elisa versari
facades landscape design: studio laura gatti
executive architect: inbo

location: eindhoven, the netherlands

photography: paolo rosselli

video: the blink fish