Tree tower home

Imagined What it could do

Imagine a tall home where every floor opens onto a balcony of trees. Leaves would shade the windows in summer and drop in winter to let the sun in. Birds and insects would live alongside the family, high above the ground.

Real world A real vertical forest

In 2014 two apartment towers called Bosco Verticale ("Vertical Forest") opened in Milan, Italy. Their balconies hold hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs and plants. The plants shade the apartments, reduce noise, create homes for birds and insects, and make a gray city greener.

Real world How it works

• Deep concrete planters, built into the balconies, hold the soil.
• Trees were grown in a nursery for years to get used to the conditions.
• Strong cables tie trees down in case of high wind.
• An automatic watering system uses filtered water.
• Specialist gardeners abseil down the building to prune the trees.

Vertical forests are heavy and expensive to build and maintain, so planting trees at ground level, in streets and parks, is usually cheaper. But where space is tight, they show how buildings can make room for nature.

Think about it

1. Would you like to live in a building covered in trees? What would be good and hard about it?
2. Who should look after trees on a tall building?
3. Is it better to put trees on buildings or in streets and parks?

Key words

Vertical forest

A tall building planted with many trees.

Planter

A container for growing plants.

Abseil

To lower yourself down on a rope.