Architecture firm MVRDV has published plans of twin skyscrapers planned for Nanjing, China, that take green planning and construction in quite literal terms. Not only will this be a carbon-neutral project, but the buildings and open areas will be covered in trees.
The firm is based in the Netherlands and won a competition for designing the nature-inspired Oasis Towers. Each of the towers will be 450 feet tall (150 meters), and a central area between the towers will look like an amazingly green park. Treehugger had a report that detailed some of the practicalities this approach will provide.
“This park-like space has a number of functions: it provides cooling and biodiversity, the canopy offers privacy by shielding the residents of the upper floors from the shoppers below, and it creates a walkable environment that connects the two plots across the central road.”
What’s fascinating about the design is that even the structure of buildings has an almost random and nature-inspired shape. It’s not a perfectly symmetrical building, and that’s what makes it such an appealing addition to the business district surrounded by the typical skyscrapers you see all over the world.