Global warming may be under debate, but pollution is a fact -- take that deniers! Cities in China and India are choking with fumes and poisonous gases. Where India's struggling to get its act together, China's tackling the problem with a bang!
Now, buildings covered with trees and plants are already a design philosophy used to reduce their carbon dioxide footprint, but what if you tried that with an entire city? That's what's China's up to...
Images courtesy: Stefano Boeri Architetti
Right now in Liuzhou, building an entire city covered in tree to act like one giant air filter. The complex will span about a kilometre along the Liujiang River, with office buildings, apartments, schools, and hotels, all engulfed by around 40,000 trees and more than a million plants.
The aim is to have the green towers soak up the air pollution in the area and produce clean oxygen, encouraging the growth of other local flora in the process. The gardens have also been planned in such a way that they¡¯ll provide residents with shade from the sun, as well as natural insulation during the winter.
The city was designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, which has also planned two similar ¡®forest towers¡¯ eastern China. , The Italian firm was commissioned to build the city in order to host 30,000 people, and be connected to nearby Liuzhuo via a fast-rail line and electric cars.
Currently under construction, the forest city is scheduled to be completed by 2020, and is expected to soak up close to 10,000 tons of CO2 per year, while generating 900 tons of oxygen.