Milan’s Vertical Forest: ten years as a green inspiration
Milan’s Vertical Forest, which celebrates its tenth anniversary, has not only transformed the Italian city and led to the building of many other ‘green towers’ around the world, but could also be the inspiration for the transformation of the Grenfell Tower site in London, where 72 people died in a devastating fire in 2017.
Stefano Boeri, the architect who designed the Vertical Forest, was in London for the launch of an English-language book, “Bosco Verticale – Morphology of a Vertical Forest”, edited by Rizzoli to mark the tenth anniversary of the innovative and trail-blazing “tree house that also hosts humans and birds”, developed by Coima.
Representatives of Grenfell Next of Kin, an association of the families of victims of the fire, attended the launch at the Italian Embassy in London and told Boeri that they regard the Vertical Forest as “a symbol of hope, life and renewal” and would like to see something similar emerge on the site.
Boeri said that his studio has already repurposed existing buildings transforming them into vertical forests, so the project is feasible. The tower has become a symbol of the city of Milan and an icon of green architecture and construction. Similar projects have since been completed in many places, from Wonderwoods in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to the Vertical Forest in Nanjing, China.
“We wanted to invite nature back into our lives, our buildings and our cities, knowing that there is always an element of unpredictability because nature cannot always be controlled,” said Boeri. However, nature has thrived: in ten years only 12 trees out of over 800 planted had to be replaced.
Yesterday the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission and the Royal Institute of British Architects announced the five design teams that have been shortlisted to create a permanent memorial for the victims, which could be built as early as next year. The shortlisted design teams are Curl La Tourelle + Head Architecture; Freehaus; George King Architects x Grow to Know; New South and Office Sian.
The UK Government will announce its decision on the future of the site in February and said that no changes will be made before the 8th anniversary of the tragedy in June this year. The 24-storey tower has been completely covered in two layers of protective wrapping since 2017. This is to protect against the elements and stop any loose material from falling to the ground. However, there are concerns that the structure under the wrapping will deteriorate over time.
Survivors and representatives of the family members of victims have criticised the years-long wait for a decision on the site and have accused the government of wanting to demolish the tower without consulting them. Their preferred choice would be to keep the tower, transforming it into a “place of life instead of death” – like the Vertical Forest, which hosts 21,000 trees, shrubs, plants and perennials on its green façade and balconies.