Jolly Green Giants: Metropolitan Reforestation Project In Milan Begins Construction.

After its initial design in 2007 by Italian Steffano Boeri's architecture firm Boeri Studio, Treehugger, Inhabit and Gizmag recently reported that construction of the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) in Milan has finally begun. That intrigued me to do a little more research and bring you images of the original renderings , models and diagrams as well as some new construction photos.


above left: computer rendering of Bosco Verticale; above right: construction begins in Milan

With 24 floors (Torre E) and 17 floors (Torre D) respectively, the two residential towers will contain a total of 900 shrubs between 3 and 6 meters tall to help to absorb dust, smog and produce oxygen. The apartment buildings, examples of utilizing ecology in architecture, are expected to be completed next year and will include a restaurant, fitness center, parking garage, and rooftop garden.




CGI renderings and the architectural models of the towers:



Architectural models by One Off Protoyping

The construction has begun at Via De Castilla & Via Confalonieri, Puorta Nova I-20100 in Milan, Italy:




description of the project from the architect's site:
Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) is a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory. Bosco Verticale is a model of vertical densification of nature within the city. It is a model that operates correlated to the policies for reforestation and naturalization of the large urban and metropolitan borders (Metrosbosco). Metrobosco and Bosco Verticale are devices for the environmental survival of contemporary European cities. Together they create two modes of building links between nature and city within the territory and within the cities of contemporary Europe.

The first example of a Bosco Verticale composed of two residential towers of 110 and 76 meters height, will be realized in the centre of Milan, on the edge of the Isola neighbourhood, and will host 900 trees (each measuring 3, 6 or 9 m tall) apart from a wide range of shrubs and floral plants.




On flat land, each Bosco Verticale equals, in amount of trees, an area equal to 10.000 sqm of forest. In terms of urban densification the equivalent of an area of single family dwellings of nearly 50.000 sqm.



The Bosco Verticale is a system that optimizes, recuperates and produces energy. The Bosco Verticale aids in the creation of a microclimate and in filtering the dust particles contained in the urban environment. The diversity of the plants and their characteristics produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust particles, producing oxygen and protect from radiation and acoustic pollution, improving the quality of living spaces and saving energy.





Plant irrigation will be produced to great extent through the filtering and reuse of the grey waters produced by the building. Additionally Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems will contribute, together with the aforementioned microclimate to increase the degree of energetic self sufficiency of the two towers. The management and maintenance of the Bosco Verticale’s vegetation will be centralised and entrusted to an agency with an office counter open to the public.

Project information:
location: Milano, Italy
year: 2007 (on going)
client: Hines Italia
built area: 40.000 sqm
budget: 65.000.000,00€

Architectural Design:
BOERISTUDIO (Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, Giovanni La Varra)

Team:
Phase 1 – Urban plan and preliminary design
Frederic de Smet (coordinator), Daniele Barillari, Julien Boitard, Matilde Cassani, Andrea Casetto, Francesca Cesa Bianchi, Inge Lengwenus, Corrado Longa, Eleanna Kotsikou, Matteo Marzi, Emanuela Messina, Andrea Sellanes.

Phase 2 – Final design and working plan
Gianni Bertoldi (coordinator), Alessandro Agosti, Andrea Casetto, Matteo Colognese, Angela Parrozzani, Stefano Onnis.

Consultant for the vegetation project: Emanuela Borio, Laura Gatti

images in this post courtesy of ©Boeri Studio, some diagrams by Salottobuono and architectural models by OneOff Protoyping

Product Pick of the Week: The Barcelona Bird Pavilion by Monique Engelund.

Designer Monique Engelund designed this stunning birdhouse and feeder for menu, inspired by the famous 1929 Barcelona Pavilion, designed by the legendary German architect Mies van der Rohe.


above: Meis van der Rohe's 1929 Barcelona Pavilion.

In keeping with van der Rohe’s spirit, it exudes geometric simplicity and is made of an extraordinary material: robust and durable acacia wood from sustainable European forests.



The feeding table is beneath the roof, where the bird food can be placed on two spikes, while the bird bath sits out in the open:



A stylish outdoor element for your garden that will make all the other birds chirp with envy.

Price approx $175 USD.

The Barcelona Bird Pavilion can be purchased here
Or here
Or here
Or here

Veer's Second Fun Font Film Is Out!

"Ready, Typeset, Go!" is the second in a series of retro science films about fonts, from Veer. In this installment, the narrator explains how simple adjustments like font size and technical tricks like kerning can make great fonts look even better.



Learn more about Veer and see the first font film here.

Finger Lickin' Landscapes. Photos of Edible Environments by Carl Warner.

Photographer Carl Warner creates miniature worlds crafted entirely of food, textiles or other objects and then photographs them. Today I want to share with you his Foodscapes, as he calls them. Meat mountains, broccoli trees, cabbage seas, chocolate rivers and cereal leaves are just some of the fun elements in the dioramas. Made with most things edible, the landscapes and buildings have obvious commercial applications, but some are just as appetizing to gaze upon. He even sells photographic prints of them (links to purchase the prints, a book and the new wall calendar are at the end of this post).

About creating his Foodscapes, Carl says:
The ‘Foodscapes’ are created in Carl’s London studio where they are built on top of a large purpose built triangular table top. The scenes are photographed in layers from foreground to background and sky as the process is very time consuming and so the food quickly wilts under the lights. Each element is then put together in post production to achieve the final image.

“Although I’m very hands on with my work, I do use model makers and food stylists to help me create the sets. I tend to start with a drawing which I sketch out in order to get the composition worked out, this acts as a blue print for the team to work to.”

Once the drawing is agreed upon, Carl then works out what each part of the scene will be made from, and working with his food stylist they together determine the best ingredients to work with in order to achieve his aims.

“I tend to draw a very conventional landscape using classic compositional techniques as I need to fool the viewer into thinking it is a real scene at first glance, it is the realisation that the scene is in fact made of food that brings a smile that brings a smile to the viewer, and for me that’s the best part”

Having worked for many years as a photographer bringing ideas to life for advertising agencies Carl became very experienced in lighting, and especially the recreation of natural looking light using a combination of tungsten and flash lighting equipment.

“I’ve always enjoyed the discipline of working in the studio, and the spontaneity of working outdoors in natural light, as you never know what you’re going to get. With my ‘Foodscapes’ I can now put together the knowledge of natural light with the control of recreating it in the studio in order to bring out the colours and textures as well as the beauty of a scene”

These images can take up to two or three days to build and photograph and then a couple of days retouching and fine tuning the images to blend all the elements together. Carl spends a lot of time planning each image before shooting in order to choose the best ingredients to replicate larger scale shapes and forms within nature, so he spends a lot of time staring at vegetables in supermarkets which makes him seem a little odd! However, he is careful to point out that finding the right shaped broccoli to use as a tree is an all important task.

“Although there is a fair amount of waste, there is a lot of food left over which is always shared out with the team, though most of the food used in the sets have either been super glued or pinned and none of this makes for good eating!”

About Carl:

Born in Liverpool, 1963 Carl has spent most of his life drawing and taking pictures. He has worked mainly in the advertising industry for the past twenty years, based at his London studio, and now lives with his long suffering wife and four children in the Kent countryside.




A book of his Food Landscapes was published last year and shows 'behind the scenes' pictures of Carl at work as well as descriptions in his own words of how they were inspired and created. And a new 2012 Wall Calendar featuring his Foodscapes is also available.



You can buy prints of some of his amazing Foodscapes here.

See all of his various types of photography at his website