China welcome’s Asia’s first vertical forest to combat pollution

A group of architects have designed two magical buildings called the Nanjing Green Towers. These are described as Asia’s first vertical forests, and are essentially giant office towers covered in plants, green tanks, and balconies. Around the outside of the buildings there will be 600 tall trees, 500 medium size trees, and 2500 cascading plants and shrubs, to create a tower of stunning greenery. The towers’ creators explain that the vertical forest will regenerate biodiversity, provide 25kg of CO2 absorption each year, and produce around 60kg of oxygen per day. The taller tower, which will be 200 metres high, will host offices, a museum, a green architecture school, and a private club on the rooftop. The smaller tower, which will be 108 metres high, will serve as a Hyatt hotel, with shops, a food market, restaurants, and a swimming pool on the rooftop.

The architects are hoping to finish their project and unveil their towers to the world in 2018, following in the footsteps of similar vertical forests in Milan and Lausanne. Given growing concerns over air quality in China, Boeri’s creation serves a particularly practical purpose in Nanjing’s densely populated Pukou district.