Create green castle, vertical forest, waiting for release

Behind the record-breaking high temperatures, there is not only the greenhouse effect, but also the urban heat island effect caused by the urban environment. How to make buildings more environmentally friendly? Unlike ordinary buildings, "vertical forests" leave enough room for plants to grow. Nearly 1,000 trees and 2,500 shrubs are planted on the prominent balcony outside the tower, which is estimated to absorb 35 tons of carbon dioxide a year and generate 60 kilograms of oxygen a day.

Skyscrapers are the totem of cities, the coordinates of history, and man-made forests built of reinforced concrete. Under the new technological and social structure, the future human settlements will be completely different appearance, to meet the rapid development of the times. Based on this, the "vertical forest" which aims to alleviate the environmental problems in the process of urbanization, for the first time, provides local residents with direct access to nature, comes into being.

As the name suggests, "forest city" means increasing the afforestation rate of the city without encroaching on the land. So, we began to see some of the roofs made gardens, or green buildings planted on the ground. Milan, as a traditional industrial city in Europe, is very different from Beijing in the field of air pollution. In Milan, it is said that there are two tall buildings "covered with trees" towering into the sky - innovative green buildings called "bosco verticale" by designers.

The industry has described this as follows: "The lush green plants stretch out from the hollowed-out building units in the building, looking from afar, the whole apartment looks like a huge bonsai." The Vertical Forest project, designed in Milan in 2006, is a pilot project for Boelli and his team to explore eco-architecture. Two buildings, 79 meters and 111 meters high, were built in Milan. After completion, 730 trees, more than 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 herbs were planted on the outer walls. There are more than 7000 square meters of forest in the city.

The basic concept is to increase the urban greening rate at the three-dimensional spatial level in urban central areas in a way that does not encroach on urban land. This can improve urban air quality, reduce average temperature and isolate noise. In the interior of the building, the designer has also adopted an environmentally friendly design scheme, such as the use of geothermal energy air conditioning, electricity will also be provided by solar energy. Public opinion has pointed out that the change in architectural style means that China is no longer pursuing "odd" architecture, focusing on new "economic, green and beautiful" housing.

In fact, these plants in the "vertical forest" help to absorb carbon dioxide and dust in the air, reduce the energy consumption of heating and cooling in buildings, and help reduce the urban heat island effect and radiation, noise and other pollution. At the same time, a microenvironment can be formed to provide oxygen for households and absorb excess carbon dioxide and dust at the same time. The purpose of "vertical forest" is to create green ecosystems, not just to improve environmental pollution. Green plants can also release 900 tons of oxygen a year, enough for one person to breathe for 95 years.

With the popularization of this concept, more and more attention has been paid to the safety and replicability of "vertical forest". Safety is naturally the concern of many people. Open data show that the additional vertical forest structure has been re-calculated on the basis of piling completed in the original design, to meet the requirements of increasing load after planting trees, to fully ensure the overall load-bearing requirements of the building structure and overall safety. In addition, wind tunnel tests measure the multiple effects of wind on each tree at different locations in the "vertical forest" and the problems that may arise under harsh conditions.

However, such a development model may be easier to achieve in Europe, China's urbanization process is too large, whether it can adapt to such a model remains to be seen. The main reason why "vertical forests" are difficult to promote in large areas in China is the cost. According to a recent report in the Science and Technology Daily, "In China, the ground price of big cities represented by Beishangguang is very high, so the architectural style is more commercial and practical, or urban planning rather than artistic behavior.

The industry generally believes that as a broad concept of environmental protection, "green building" is not simply equivalent to high cost. Therefore, how to maximize the conservation of resources, reduce the resulting environmental pollution has become a city building development of another due meaning. Whether it's a "vertical forest" or a "green building," the concept of harmonious coexistence with ecological protection is getting closer and closer to us.