On Oct. 21st, DOBE Group and Boeri Studio (Italy) jointly held a press conference in Shanghai, announcing that the two sides signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement and would introduce the most advanced green ecological ideas in the world into China. Meanwhile, the flagship exhibition hall in China of “Vertical Forest” Project that was designed and built by Boeri Studio would settle in DOBE E-manor of Changning. Located in Milan, Italy, “Vertical Forest” is the world’s first high-rise forest building.
DOBE and Boeri Studio Reached Strategic Cooperation
DOBE Group has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Boeri Studio of Italy, and invited Boeri to be a Distinguished Counselor of DOBE Group. In the future, the two sides will set up joint working groups to carry out multiple cultural activities about ecological architecture and spread the concept of “Vertical Forest” in China together.
DOBE Group’s President Jia Bo said the cooperation with Boeri Studio would be an important step made by DOBE Group in green eco-culture field. As a leading professional cultural and creative industry development service supplier in China, with the help of Boeri Studio’s strength, DOBE will provide cultural and creative enterprises with a more comfortable, ecological and individualized high-quality office environment.
As a Distinguished Counselor of DOBE Group, Boeri will join hand with DOBE Group to build a broad platform for Chinese and Italian cultural and creative industries, further deepen and promote the two countries’ exchanges and cooperation in design field, and launch “Sino-Italian Young Designer Awards” together next year. Meanwhile, Boeri will personally design DOBE Bund T-Art and other projects as green ecological demonstration parks.
“Vertical Forest” Exhibition Room Settled in DOBE E-manor
“Vertical Forest” is the world’s first “green building” designed by Italian architectural design master Boeri, in the hope to erect flat forests in cities where land is precious, to create a harmonious urban atmosphere in which nature is introduced into buildings and buildings are blended into nature. So far, “Vertical Forest” Project in Milan has been completed. On this occasion, “Vertical Forest” Project’s first flagship exhibition room in China also will open on the Terrace of F9 of DOBE E-manor of Changning (No. 492 Anhua Road) to have its first overseas display.
As to why “Vertical Forest” Project chose to have its first display in DOBE E-manor, Boeri thought Chinese cities were experiencing large scale urban sprawl; environmental pollution caused by urbanization and industrialization, such as smog, also happened in Europe; the creation of “Vertical Forest” was to solve the contradiction of high density and high pollution in cities, hoping China wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of Europe in the process of rapid development.
Boeri said: “in the process of development, DOBE Group attaches much importance to the harmonious co-existence between human and nature. The park design idea of blending green landscape with creative office is also very green and environment-friendly. We not only will have a display of Vertical Forest Project, but also will set up a NGO with DOBE Group, to spread cultural activities about green ecological architecture in China.”
From Oct. 22nd, “Vertical Forest” Exhibition will officially be open to the public on the garden terrace of F9 of DOBE E-manor of Changning (No. 492 Anhua Road). Visitors from Shanghai and even the whole country can learn the design principles of “Vertical Forest” and the materials, gardening, electronic, PV and resource recycling technologies used in the whole project’s construction. DOBE Group also will organize special narrations for visitors who need to witness the changes brought by ecological architectural design to contemporary cities, and feel the beauty of harmonious co-existence between human and nature with everyone.
About Boeri
Mr. Boeri is a world famous architect, curator, critic and educator. From 2011 to 2013, he worked as Milan’s Deputy Mayor of Culture. He is the Concept Phase General Planner of EXPO Milano 2015 and father of Milan Vertical Forest.
As a senior professor of Urbanology in Politecnico di Milano, Mr. Boeri once taught in Harvard University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology of USA, The Berlage Institute Amesterdam of Holland, Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design of Moscow, and other world famous schools of architecture.
From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Boeri worked as the Chief Editor of international journal Abitare; from 2004 to 2007, he was the Chief Editor of magazine Domus. Mr. Boeri also is the founder of international united research institution “Multiplicity”. He has been the curator of Italy Architecture Festival since 2007. Now he also is the curator of St. Paul Calling.
Mr. Boeri has written a number of books: A Profile of Italy published in 1998; Mutation he co-authored with Rem Koolhaas in 2000; Uncertain States of Europe in 2002; A Chronicle of Dwelling in 2007; Madalena Effect in 2010, A Dictionary of Metropolitan Ecological Diversity in 2011; Anti-City in 2013. His works and designs have been exhibited in Venice Biennale, Milan Triennale, Kassel Art Exhibition of Germany, Bordeaux Rafe Architecture Exhibition, Berlin Contemporary Art Center, Paris Museum of Modern Art, Generali Foundation of Vienna, Tokyo TNProbe and other world famous art museums.
About “Vertical Forest”
40% of the buildings more than 12-storey in the whole world were built in the past 6 years. The striking statistics tell us the significance of studying the economic, social and environmental advantages and defects of high-rise buildings-the new pattern of urban mutation.
For years, the design of high-rise buildings has neglected energy conservation. Towers and skyscrapers almost have become the symbols of energy wastage. Indeed, high density of space usage means intensive energy consumption. The pioneering try of introducing energy-saving technologies, such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, into high-rise building design didn’t rise until recent years.
But in most circumstances, due to the lack of accurate technology and predecessors’ experience, the energy-saving systems introduced cannot produce enough energy for high-rise buildings in most cases, particularly for those high-rise buildings or all-glass towers built in extreme natural environment.
Thus today’s high-rise buildings not only need to accumulate energy, but also have to capture energy. Meanwhile, the buildings’ envelope should be able to retain energy and reduce heat loss.
Based on the above thinking, a “Vertical Forest” that can be popularized worldwide and vertically planted with trees of different sizes and varieties was born. We hope she can not only save energy, but also improve the quality of surrounding environment.