Architecture Wednesday: 25 Verde by Luciano Pia

Okay, so it’s not a house, or even a treehouse; it’s a … tree apartment house?

Located in Turin, Italy, and designed by Luciano Pia, 25 Verde is made of steel and wood, but planted with trees and shrubs to bring a forest into a barren section of the city.

Pia designed the building as a living forest, a house on the trees like the houses children dream of and sometimes build.

And even better, because of the trees and shrubs planted everywhere, on every level, every corner, every rooftop, the building is alive: it grows up, it breaths and it changes since 150 trees on the building and the 50 trees planted in the courtyard produce oxygen, absorb carbonic anhydride, cut down air pollution, protect from noise, follow the natural cycle of seasons, grow up day after day and create a perfect microclimate inside the building.

The slats in the solid wood floors of the terraces filter sunlight in summer, keeping things cool, while in winter they let much-needed light into each unit. And the building sits on metal structures that look like trees and “grow” from the ground floor to the roof while holding up the terraces: they become entwined with the vegetation to form a unique façade.

And due to this special brand of architecture, the entire building is energy efficient via continuous insulation, sun protection, heating and cooling systems that make use of the geothermal energy with heat pumps and the recycling of the falling rain to water the green spaces.

There are 63 residences in the building, each one unique, with wide terraces of irregular shapes that surround the trees; the top floor is covered with a live green roof.

You feel like you’re in a treehouse … a truly green treehouse.

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