Littered with over 150 trees and boasting a stunning asymmetrical architecture, 25 Verde – an apartment complex in Turin, Italy – is not your typical residence. Though its roots may be made of steel and concrete, this apartment building rises like a forest or urban oasis.
“The streeps in solid wood that floor the terraces filter the sunlight in summer, while in winter they let the light break into the house. The wainscot in larch shingles is a sort of soft and vibrant surface. The metal structures look like trees and they “grow” from the groundfloor to the roof while holding up the wooden planking of the terraces: they become entwined with the vegetation to form a unique façade,” writes Luciano Pia, the architect behind the 25 Verde (Green) project.
Additionally, another 50 trees planted in the courtyard help residents feel closer to nature, all while cutting down on pollution, producing more fresh oxygen and dampening noise.
If the city of Turin doesn’t ring a bell, maybe Fiat will. This is the home to one of Italy’s biggest car manufacturers, which is kind of easy to notice once you’re here. There’s an industrial feel surrounding the vicinity of 25 Verde, which is quite fitting seeing how the trees in the condo, which was completed in 2012, absorb approximately 200,000 litres of carbon dioxide an hour.
“The apartments, built from steel and concrete, are clad with over one million larch shingles, split naturally along the wood’s grain to improve their resilience. It also means each shingle is unique, the product of 10 months spent setting each one individually. All but a few of the apartments have two balconies, one facing into the green oasis, the other out to the street. Inside, the layout of the rooms is left to the owner, choosing whether they want to embrace an introverted tree house or see the contrast of the gritty street below,” Jon Astbury of Architectural Review wrote.
So, what do you think of this design. Would you like to see more of this, maybe in your own town?