Architect's 'vertical forests' aim to combat pollution

  • 22/02/2017

An Italian architect has come up with an attention-grabbing away to try and combat pollution in China. The theory: buildings can also double as vertical forests. 

Stefano Boeri has designed 'The Nanjing Green Towers', which will be the first of their kind in Asia. The future skyscrapers will be located in the Nanjing Pukou District, an area in China that has struggled with heavy smog. 

Plant life is placed along the outside of the building to help remove smog by filtering carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen. 

Mr Boeri has already designed a vertical forest in Milan, on the edge of the Isola neighbourhood.

Each of the buildings hosts 900 trees (each measuring 3, 6 or 9 meters) and more than 20,000 plants, which range from shrubs to flowering plants. 

On flat land, each vertical forest would equal 7000 sq metres of forest. 

Mr Boeri's ambitious design aims to produce 60 kg of oxygen per day.

The Nanjing towers should be completed by 2018. The tallest will house offices, an architecture school and a private rooftop club.

Newshub.