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384ft-Tall Apartment Tower To Be World’s First Building Covered In Evergreen Trees

Stefano Boeri, an Italian architect with an affinity for innovative green structures, is set to build a 117m-tall (384ft) apartment tower in Lausanne, Switzerland, that will be the first building in the world to be covered in evergreen trees.

The 36-story green tower, aptly named “La Tour des Cedres” (The Tower of Cedars), will be home to more than 100 trees, 6,000 shrubs and 18,000 plants spread over roughly 3,000 square meters of green space. The plants will protect the apartments inside from harsh winds, dust, and noise pollution, and will offer a more pleasant view of the city.

This tower will be the second project of its kind by Boeri. He previously designed two 112m towers in Milan as well.

More info: stefanoboeriarchitetti.net | Facebook (h/t: mymodernmet, designboom)

Stefano Boeri’s 117m-tall (384ft) apartment tower will be the first vertical evergreen forest in the world

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“La Tour des Cedres” (The Tower of Cedars) will have more than 100 trees, 6,000 shrubs and 18,000 plants over 3,000 square meters

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The plants will protect residents from dust, noise pollution and harsh wind

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Below are two similar towers that Boeri has already built in Milan:

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What do you think ?

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AnnieHaslam 9 years ago

How will he stop the roots destroying the fabric of the buildings? Plant a tree, or even a small shrub, on a wall and the wall will burst apart after a few years. Will they need watering & feeding, like plants in pots on patios, or hanging baskets? Even in the wettest weather they need watering. The weight of the trees, earth & water must be massive & require enormous reinforcement to the structure, even before you get people, furniture, baths & appliances inside. It's an awesome idea, but is it realistic on this scale?

17points

DariaB 9 years ago

I thought the same things as you, but then, im Seoul, I've seen plenty of rooftop gardens (which include trees as well, obviously), so maybe they found a way for it to actually work... But I bet the maintaince must be costly...

4points

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Jude 9 years ago

Not just from the standpoint of what trees can do to a building but the effect on the growing trees, this can be problematic. How much sunlight would the trees receive on the north facing side for healthy photosynthesis, soil compaction in potted plants leads to poor root systems, trees would end up leaning out toward the light as their tops got near the next floor up, exposure to wind (unprotected as plants close to the ground and/or surrounded by other trees) can weaken and stress the trees and all trees have a limited lifespan - who's going to remove dead or dying trees and replace them. I'm writing as someone very knowledgeable about botany and these are only a few of the more obvious problems. Such a building might look good for a few years but it wouldn't last long.

3points

HeidiFancher 9 years ago

I'm sure they have considered all of this before giving it the go ahead. Not much different than most roof top penthouses that hold large enough trees. In which case, will not grow more than the soil allows. As they appear to be imbedded in a concrete enclosed section. I personally love it! Though wonder how much the maintenance fees are? In fact, I wonder how much these units actually cost?

2points

jehosefatz 9 years ago

Since two 112m towers already exist...yes it's realistic to go 5m further

2points

JeanneDeaux 9 years ago

At first I was thinking: "I want to live in such a place". Then I looked at the pictures and like you I started to ask myself questions. Now I think: "I would never live in such a place". I prefer to go live in the forest, this building brings too much questions even if I'm sure he thought about all this.

1point