Ho sempre amato gli alberi … I’ve always loved trees, but where I grew up in England there weren’t any ‘real’ forests. The great forests of England disappeared long before my time, victims of the famous maritime fleet (built of oak), the industrial revolution, and large scale agricultural and livestock farming. I remember my amazement when I first saw the vast expanses of forest and woodland that cover Lunigiana, where we live in Italy. If I go up to the Passo del Cirone at 1,200m I can enjoy the spectacle of an almost endless carpet of foliage stretching off to the rugged horizons in all directions. Only the tallest peaks, jutting up above the tree line to 1,800m, stand strangely naked, apart from the odd wind twisted relic of a tenuous faggio (beech), the low ground cover of mirtilli (blueberries) and ginepro (juniper), and tough clumps of alpine grasses.

The forest near our house in December. Photo by Geoff Chamberlain©

I suffer if I have to spend too much time in big cities. Whereas in the past, back in the days when I had to go into the city every day for work, I could ‘more or less’ put up with the noise, smell, and lack of greenery, now, after years of living up here in the forested foothills of the Appennino Tosco Emiliano, my tolerance is reduced to one, or two days at the maximum. Then I need to escape. Even after just a couple of hours in a big city my eyes are seeking out green spaces, those little parks which serve as oasis to keep us ‘country folk’ from going fuori di testa (out of our minds) in the midst of the concrete jungle.

I’ve never actually been into the centre of Milano, just driving round its tangenziale (ring road) once or twice a year is enough for me. But a recent piece of news about an innovative inner city development has made me curious. The city has sprouted a new forest which is unlike those that surround us, because this one is VERTICAL.

Il Bosco Verticale (The Vertical Forest) consists of two apartment blocks covered in trees. It was designed by Studio Boeri to comply with Milan’s policy for the reforestation and naturalisation of large urban and metropolitan areas, designated Metrobosco. The initiative is aimed at the long term survival of contemporary European cities, and it seems that the Bosco Verticale fits the bill very successfully because it has just been handed the International Highrise Award 2014 from the City of Frankfurt.

With more than 900 trees planted on their terraces the towers house around 10,000 square metres of forest. The plants serve to filter out the dust, pollen and pollution form the environment, something that’s vital in Milan as it happens to be one of Europe’s most polluted cities. Furthermore, they act as sun shields in the summer months and weather shields in the winter, thus reducing heating and air conditioning costs. The building is also equipped with wind and solar powered energy systems, and the trees are irrigated by the waste water produced by the towers.

I’d love to visit the Vertical Forest, the whole concept makes me feel really positive about the direction in which things are moving. Plus, the fact that it has won a prestigious award will hopefully encourage further development of a similar nature.  But personally I’m more than happy with my Bosco Orizzontale (Horizontal Forest), designed by Studio Mother Nature, and don’t plan on moving out any time soon!

To find out why the Bosco Verticale is such an important step towards a more sustainable future, and discover exactly how big Milan’s pollution problem really is, read this article (in English).