Nanjing Green Towers, promoted by Nanjing Yang Zi state-owned National Investment Group Co. Ltd., will be the first vertical forest built in Asia. Located in Nanjing Pukou District, the two towers will be characterized by the interchange of green tanks and balconies, following the prototype of Milan’s award-winning Vertical Forest (Bosco Verticale). The project, scheduled to be finished in 2018, is the third prototype (after Milan and Lausanne) of a project about “urban forestation and demineralization” that Stefano Boeri Architects plans to develop worldwide, especially in other Chinese cities, in the hopes of absorbing tons of CO2 and producing oxygen to the smog-plagued cities.
Along the façades of the Nanjing Green Towers will be balconies with 600 tall trees, 500 medium-sized trees, and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs. The vertical forest will provide 25 tons of CO2 absorption each year and produce 60 kg of oxygen per day.
The taller, 200-meter- (656-ft.-) high tower will be crowned on top by a “green lantern.” The building will host offices from the 8th to the 35th floors and will include a museum, a green architecture school, and a private club on the rooftop. The second tower (108 m or 354 ft.) will house a 247-room Hyatt hotel and a rooftop swimming pool. The 20-m (66-ft.) podium will host commercial, recreational, and educational functions, including shops, a food market, restaurants, conference hall, and exhibit spaces. — stefanoboeriarchitetti.net
