Sustainable living is a hugely popular trend these days, as everyone is trying to leave a smaller "carbon footprint."
There are truly a million amazing ways to do your part in reducing your environmental impact, like with this woman who created so little waste over the course of two years that she could fit it into a small mason jar.
So when I learned what Italian architect Stefano Boeri was doing to encourage his community to live a greener existence, I was absolutely impressed.
Stefano is set to build the world's first ever "vertical evergreen forest." And the best part? You can live in it.
This vertical forest doubles as a gorgeous 36-story apartment complex. And while the "vertical gardening movement" has been encouraging city-dwellers to cultivate their own green thumb for quite some time, Stefano is working on an even grander scale and wants others to join the movement.
Scroll through below to see this incredible vertical forest apartment building.
Would you want to live in a forest tower? Let us know in the comments!
h/t Dezeen Magazine
This project is appropriately named 'La Tour Des Cedres' or 'The Tower of Cedars,' and will eventually be the site of more than 100 trees, 6,000 shrubs, and 18,000 plants spread over almost 3,000 square meters of green space.
This particular residential complex will eventually be built in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland. Stefano shares with Dezeen Magazine, 'This will make [it] a cutting-edge city in the global challenge to implement urban quality together with sustainability and biodiversity.'
So why create this kind of sustainable structure in the first place? From a comfort standpoint, the trees protect residents from dust and noise pollution, and block out strong winds.
Additionally, adding a living and breathing forest to a city increases its air quality as the trees both absorb harmful carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen.
The structure will also save energy by sheltering the building from solar radiation in the summer.
And this isn’t Stefano’s first venture into green housing. In 2012, he began construction on the 'Vertical Forest,' two residential buildings in the city-center of Milan, Italy.
With the cost of one of these 'vertical forest' apartments only a fraction higher than average, it seems like a stunning and value-friendly place to call home.
Better still? These urban forest buildings are popping up far beyond Italy and Switzerland. Chicago is also leading the way in urban forest development.
One Dutch architect, Raimond de Hullu, has even dreamed up buildings that will someday be indistinguishable from their surrounding habitat. 'Imagine living with nothing but green around you.'
Blending the comforts of modern living with the beauty and relaxation of nature, these buildings combine the best of both county and city life, while reducing each resident's impact on the environment.
Would you want to live in one of these urban forest buildings? Let us know in the comments.
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