A new landmark in the long history of Chinese housing experiments is about to be inaugurated as Stefano Boeri Architetti's “social forest” has been completed in Huanggang.
Located in Hubei Province’s second-largest city, Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex is a near-identical twin to the firm’s previous “social forest” development in the Netherlands. The new development consists of two residential towers in a five-building mixed-use complex taking up approximately 4.54 hectares (11.2 acres) in total area.
According to the architect: “The design allows an excellent view of the tree-lined façades, enhancing the sensorial experience of the greenery and integrating the plant landscape with the architectural dimension. Thus, the inhabitants of the residential towers have the opportunity to experience the urban space from a different perspective while fully enjoying the comfort of being surrounded by nature.”
The biophilic elements of Boeri’s design serve as the lungs of the development and can produce up to 11 tons of oxygen a year while almost doubling that amount in terms of CO2 absorbed. The towers feature an amazing 404 different varieties of trees, over 4,000 types of shrubs, and 2,408 square meters (25,920 square feet) of natural perennial grass, flowers, and other plants which accentuate the visual effect of movement caused by its facade of open and closed balconies. The firm hopes it will help further change the direction of green building within similar residential typologies and urban developments worldwide.
“The completion of Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex is a big step in the practice of Stefano Boeri’s green concept in China,” Partner Xu Yibo said in a statement. “This project represents very comforting news for all of us: We hope that one day everyone will have the chance to live close to nature in their own private area rather than just in public buildings,” adding that the Vertical Forest model in residences “will fundamentally transform the landscape of future cities and change people's expectations for future ecological life.”
3 Comments
I am wondering about the thermal integrity with so many projections. How are these insulated...? thermal bridges are everywhere.
how so? There are ways to build balconies and minimize the thermal bridge. Possible they dont bother with that, but it is not technically a major issue simply because of the building form, which is otherwise pretty common looking. Not much fancy form making going on.
I like the way it looks. I also wonder who's in charge of maintaining the plants.
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