The Cedar Trees Tower – Stacked trees and apartments

The Cedar Trees Tower (Stefano Boeri Architetti)

Imagine some trees at the edge of a square area. Each tree is between three and six meters tall. In addition, some apartments are placed in the middle of this spuare area. Nothing really special so far. Next, we copy this square area with trees and apartments 36 times and stack them one above the other. How does it look like? Does it overextend your imagination? What might sound like a day dream will soon become reality in Switzerland. A new vertical forest designed by Stefano Boeri will rise in Europe.

In the morning of 3 November 2015 Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA) has been awarded for its project. Finally, the Cedar Trees Tower will be constructed in Switzerland in the district of Chavannes-Près-Renens in the urban district of Lausanne. The 117 meters high Tower will host 100 cedar trees, 6,000 shrubs and 18,000 perennial, falling and covering plants. The green surface area as a whole will be 3,000 square meters large.

The Cedar Trees Tower has been designed by Studio Stefano Boeri Architetti with the collaboration of Buro Happold Engineering for the construction. The expert agronomist Laura Gatti is responsible for vegetal components. The renowned Swiss builders Bernard Nicod and Avni Orllati will realize the project.

“With the Tower of Cedar Trees we will have the opportunity to realize a plain building that will have a great role in the Lausanne landscape. An architecture even able to introduce a significant biodiversity of vegetal species in the middle of an important European city. The Tower, also thanks to its shape and the changing colors of cedar trees and plants during the seasons, could become a landmark in the panorama of Lemano lake. I’m happy for this extraordinary occasion that will make Lausanne a cutting-edge city in the global challenge to implement urban quality together with sustainability and biodiversity” Stefano Boeri, a Milan-based architect, said.

In recent years, many extraordinary green buildings were designed, but only a few of them are actually realised. One example is The Green Wall.