City in China plans to build Asia’s first Vertical Forest towers

Nanjing Green Towers (Photo credit: Stefano Boeri Architetti)

Chinese leaders in Beijing are taking big steps to tackle climate change and pollution, and some of China’s cities are acting too.

Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province, is getting a Vertical Forest, a set of two green residential towers that will beautify the city and will provide residents and visitors with a breath of fresh air. Nanjing, like many major cities in China, is looking for innovative ways to deal with air pollution.

The brain behind the concept is Stefano Boeri Architetti, an architect based in Milan, Italy. The first example of the Vertical Forest was realized in Milan in 2014. The two residential towers host 900 trees and over 20,000 plants from a wide range of shrubs and floral plants. On flat land, each vertical forest equals an area of 7,000 square meters of forest area.

Now, Stefano is bringing his innovative model for a sustainable residential building to Nanjing, a major city in China built along the Yangtze River. It will be the first Vertical Forest built in Asia.

According to the architect's website, Nanjing Green Towers will host a total of 1,100 trees from 23 local species and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs and plants. The two green residential towers will provide 25 tons of CO2 absorption each year and will produce around 132 pounds of oxygen each day. The project is slated for completion in 2018.

The green residential towers aid in the absorption of CO2 and dust particles and produce oxygen. Other Chinese megacities, like Chongqing and Shanghai, are reportedly planning to build similar green structures.