63-Unit Apartment Building in Italy Covered With Green Foliage

“Designed by architect Luciano Pia, 25 verde is an unique residential building that has been constructed in Torino, Italy. The load-bearing structure is made of steel and columns shaped like tree trunks help support the 63 residential units that is covered in larch wood shingles. The concept of the scheme was to create a space with a transition between the interior and exterior, by the prominent use of foliage. illustrated in diverse ways such as green walls, planted in pots and gardens, altogether seamlessly coherently carried through the entire building.

The residential lofts are all different, fitted with irregular terraces that wrap around the trees with the top floor having its own green roof. 50 trees were planted just in the court garden itself, whilst they enhance the environmentally friendly setting, the trees reduce air and noise pollution. The building is like a living forest
.

Ultimately, the aim of the project is to be energy efficient. by utilizing geothermal energy for heating and cooling, harvesting rainwater to water the plants and a natural flow of ventilation. Over time, the building and surrounding vegetation will grow and age, side by side, establishing its own microclimate and when the plant life is fully in bloom, give its occupants a real taste of living in a tree house.…”

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/luciano-pia-25-verde-treehouse-torino-italy-03-13-2015/

Photo © beppe giardino

About Lloyd Kahn

Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:

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