Stefano Boeri's twin residential towers (2014) with around 800 trees, 15,000 perennials and ground-cover plants, and 5,000 shrubs on the balconies. The vertical forest concept that launched a thousand imitators. Best viewed from Biblioteca degli Alberi park below rather than from inside.
Location
Porta Nuova, Milano
Map
Insider Intel
Walk through the Porta Nuova district to understand the scale of Milan's 21st-century redevelopment. The towers are residential so no public access to interiors. View from the BAM (Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano) park across the street — the landscaping by Inside Outside provides the best vantage point. The surrounding district (Unicredit tower, Piazza Gae Aulenti) is worth 30 minutes.
Late afternoon when the light hits the facades and the greenery is most visible. Spring and summer for full foliage. The Porta Nuova district is lively in the evening with restaurants and bars around Piazza Gae Aulenti.
Completed in 2014 as part of the Porta Nuova redevelopment. Each apartment has dedicated irrigation systems and annual botanical maintenance by flying gardeners. The trees absorb CO2 and produce oxygen equivalent to a hectare of forest. The project has been replicated (with varying success) in over a dozen cities worldwide. Boeri's concept was to reforest the city vertically — whether that is greenwashing or genuine environmental architecture depends on your perspective. Either way, it photographs spectacularly and signals Milan's attempt to reimagine itself as a sustainable city.