Commissioned by Liuzhou Municipality Urban Planning, the new city is being built along the Liujiang River in China’s Guangxi Province. Liuzhou Forest City will be cover 175 hectares (432 acres), and if it is successful, could raise the bar in urban design worldwide.
The unusual metropolis will house 30,000 residents in buildings that are entirely covered in over 100 species of plants, as well as 40,000 trees – Yes, you read that correctly, 40,000 trees. It will sort of feel like you’re living in a global terrarium. But the neat thing about this project is the beneficial results to be seen environmentally.
The flora, including all the plants, bushes and trees, will absorb an estimated 10,000 tons of C02 and 57 tons of pollutants each year. But in return, the flora will produce about 900 million tons of oxygen each year, at least that’s what is claimed, according to New Atlas.
Living plants are intended “to decrease the average air temperature, to create noise barriers and to improve the biodiversity of living species, generating the habitat for birds, insects, and small animals,” say architects at the Italian firm Stefano Boeri Architetti, whose design for a “vertical forest” tower in Milan, Italy is now being replicated in China.
The Forest City’s location is just north of the existing city of Liuzhou, home to one-and-a-half million people. The two cities will be connected via a fast rail line that uses electric carriages. The Forest City will also use geothermal energy for heating and cooling and solar panels for electricity, making it a truly “green city.”
The vertical foresting concept in sustainable living
Stefano Boeri came up with the idea of giving back to nature the space we are taking from it with continuous urban sprawl. He conceived and designed the Bosco Verticale as a prototype of the skyscrapers of the future.
And according to the Italian architect’s website: “Today we see that the Future is now. Every day architects all around the world rethink and reinterpret the idea of the Trees in the sky. Each of these attempts is extremely important for the future of architecture and the Future of our planet” so that e can achieve a sustainable environment.
Last week, the Italian architect, known for his famed tree-clad Bosco Verticale skyscraper complex in Milan told The Guardian China’s equivalent of the Boeri tower will be composed of two towers coated with 23 species of tree and more than 2,500 cascading shrubs. The towers will house offices, a 247-room luxury hotel, a museum and green architecture school. The two towers are currently under construction, set for completion next year.
Note to readers: Take a few minutes to view the video. The vertical foresting concept is really amazing and actually, quite beautiful, if not eye-catching.
