Architecture

France's first vertical forest tower to be shrouded in 2,000 plants

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Stefano Boeri Architetti's newly announced Forêt Blanche tower will be covered in 2,000 plants
Stefano Boeri Architetti
The entirely wooden Forêt Blanche tower will stand 54 meters (177 ft) tall
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri Architetti's newly announced Forêt Blanche tower will be covered in 2,000 plants
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri Architetti's newly announced Forêt Blanche tower will play home to offices and commercial services on the lower floors and residential apartments up top
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri Architetti's newly announced Forêt Blanche tower will be covered in 2,000 plants
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri Architetti's newly announced Forêt Blanche tower will play home to offices and commercial services on the lower floors and residential apartments up top
Stefano Boeri Architetti
The Forêt Blanche tower will be built in Villiers sur Marne, a community in the eastern suburbs of Paris
Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri's vertical forest towers are already taking shape in Switzerland and Milan, with Paris now joining the list
Stefano Boeri Architetti
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As cities grow more conscious of overpopulation and pollution, ideas like apartment blocks that double as air-cleaning towers are becoming an increasingly entertain-able proposition. The latest metropolis to green-light such a project is Paris, which will welcome a new wooden structure to be shrouded in thousands of trees and plants.

Stefano Boeri's vertical forest towers are already taking shape in Switzerland and Milan, and earlier in the year his firm announced plans for a full-blown Forest City in the mountains of southern China. That last example is set to include almost one million plants, which are expected to absorb 10,000 tons of C02 and 57 tons of pollutants each year, all while producing 900 tons of oxygen annually.

Boeri's newly announced Forêt Blanche project doesn't aim quite so high, but will take the the Italian architect's fight against pollution and vanishing urban biodiversity into new territory. Going up in Villiers sur Marne, a community in the eastern suburbs of Paris, the entirely wooden tower will stand 54 meters (177 ft) tall, and will play home to offices and commercial services on the lower floors and residential apartments up top.

The entirely wooden Forêt Blanche tower will stand 54 meters (177 ft) tall
Stefano Boeri Architetti

All four sides will feature a mix of terraces and balconies, with the facades to be covered by 2,000 trees, shrubs and plants. According to the firm Stefano Boeri Architetti, this green surfacing will be equivalent to one hectare of forest – 10 times the footprint of the building itself.

A timeline for construction of the project is yet to be released.

Source: Stefano Boeri Architetti

View gallery - 7 images
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4 comments
Bob Flint
A wooden structure and tree roots spells trouble...
Nik
The Victorians just planted trees, in London, much cheaper than buildings for trees. Trees effectively provide their own ''buildings,'' if they are given the space. Architects! Always trying to reinvent the wheel!
Douglas Bennett Rogers
The idea is to have the CO2 be represented by wood. The wood should last longer than the tree it came from.
Daishi
Every architect and their brother has been pitching "put a tree on it" for a while. I think the jury is still out on the tradeoffs of the idea but with a few of these getting actual funding there should be actual data to come out of the work as well.