Stefano Boeri’s aesthetics and visionary concept of incorporating urban greenery, which began with the vertical forest in Milan, has also arrived in China. Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex, located in the city of Huanggang in the province of Hubei, is the first Chinese Vertical Forest to be fully completed and has already been inhabited by its first tenants for a few weeks. It is a new type of Bosco Verticale characterised by an alternation of open and closed balconies which break up the regularity of the building and create a continuous and changing movement, accentuated by the presence of trees and shrubs which – thanks to this specific structure – can grow freely in height, following the design of the façade.
In the case of Huanggang, the façade solution allowed us to make the most of the relationship with the trees and the greenery, present both in the balconies and in the bow-windows,” says architect Stefano Boeri. “The inhabitants of the towers thus have the opportunity to experience the domestic space and the urban landscape from a different perspective, enjoying an unprecedented closeness with living nature. The Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City complex covers an area of 4.54 hectares and consists of five towers, two of which are residential and designed on the model of the Vertical Forest. The new complex also includes hotels and commercial spaces, to ensure a high functional mix and meet the daily needs of citizens, resident tourists and temporary guests.
The Bosco Verticale’s greenery, selected from local plant essences, consists of 404 trees (the main species are Ginkgo biloba, Osmanthus fragrans, Acer griseum, Ligustrum lucidum and Chimonanthus praecox); 4620 shrubs (among the main species: Hibiscus mutabilis, Elaeagnus pungens, Nandina domestica and Euonymus alatus) and 2408 square metres of perennials, flowers and climbing plants (such as Ophiopogon bodinieri, Sedum lineare and Liriope spicata). In total, the greenery of Huanggang’s Bosco Verticale absorbs 22 tonnes of CO2 per year and produces 11 tonnes of O2 per year. A saga that continues and takes the idea of incorporating greenery into the urban fabric around the world with Stefano Boeri’s master’s touch.
For further information please visit www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net
CREDITS
Project: Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex,
Architect: Stefano Boeri Architects China
Year: 2021
Photo: RAW VISION studio
