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But it's not all about how it looks: The Nanjing Towers will absorb enough carbon dioxide to make around 132 pounds (60 kilograms) of oxygen every day, an official press release claimed. China's Vertical Forest is scheduled to be completed sometime next year.

At the time of writing, Nanjing has an air-quality index of 167, which categorises it as "unhealthy." For reference, Sydney and New York both have "moderate" indexes of around 60, while Londonsits at about 100, teetering between "moderate" and "unhealthy."

It'll be the third city to get a Vertical Forest, following ones built in Milan, Italy and Lausanne, Switzerland.

The towers will stand at 354 and 656 feet tall, respectively (that's 107 and 199 metres), reports Italian publication Living. The shorter tower will house a Hyatt hotel, while the taller one will be home to a museum, offices and an architecture school.

It won't stop here though, as Boeri has plans to build similar structures in Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou and Shanghai, according to Living.

After being awarded the project commission in a 2010 competition, Vincent Callebaut Architectures set out to create a building “like an inhabited tree” that could create a fragment of vertical landscape with minimal energy consumption.

The design consists of a 20-story tower that completes a 90 degree twist as it rises – a 4.5 degree turn per level. This form was chosen based on four criteria:

to integrate into the pyramidal profile of the building volume determined by urban setbacks; to generate a maximum area for cascading, suspended open-air gardens; to offer panoramic views of the Taipei skyline to all residents; and to provide each apartment unit with privacy by avoiding direct visual axes.

The tower has also been eco-designed to take advantage of the climatic and environmental conditions of its site. VCA conducted sunlight, thermal and wind analyses to fine tune the design, optimizing natural light and ventilation throughout the building. In addition, the large planted areas will allow the building to absorb 130 tons of carbon dioxide from the air annually.

The central core of the building features a double skin curtain wall system, that enables passive climate control for the vertical circulation and inner spaces. Other environmental features include a rainwater recycling system, low e-glass, a photovoltaic solar array on the roof and canopies, energy-saving lifts and automated energy saving monitors that adapt to climatic conditions.

Floorplans of the units follow two typical layouts on alternating floors, so to best fit into the virendeel beam structure. Each unit contains 550 square meters of column free floorspace, allowing for maximum flexibility of the interior layouts.

Additional amenities will include a swimming pool and fitness center, and several levels of integrated parking.

The Tao Zhu Yin Yuan is expected to be completed in September 2017.

You can learn more about this project, here.

News via Vincent Callebaut Architectures.

Architects

Vincent Callebaut Architectures

Location

110, Taiwan, Taipei City, Xinyi District, Songyong Rd, 陶朱隱園

International Design Architect

Vincent Callebaut Architectures, SARL Paris

VCA Design Team

Emilie Diers, Frederique Beck, Jiao Yang, Florence Mauny, Volker Erlich, Philippe Steels, Marco Conti Sikic, Benoit Patterlini, Maguy Delrieu, Vincent Callebaut

Local Architect

LKP Design, Taipei

Client

BES Engineering Corporation, Taipei

Structural Engineer

King Le Chang & Associates, Taipei

Local MEP Engineering

Sine & Associates, Taipei

International Interior Architect

Wilson & Associates (WA), Los Angeles

International Landscape Architect

SWA, Sausalito, San Francisco

Local Landscape Architect

Horizon & Atmosphere (H&A), Taipei

International Lighting Designer

L'Observatoire International, New-York

Local Lighting Designer

Unolai Design, Taipei

Green Consultant

Enertek, Taipei

Green Certification

U.S. Green Building Council, LEED Gold + Low Carbon Building Alliance, Diamond Level

Awards

Innovation Award Finalist on Innovative Design by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Chicago 2015 + Highly Commented Award, Future Residential Project, World Architectural Festival, Singapore 2015 + Winner of the International Architecture Award 2014, Chicago Atheneum, New York

Area

4233534.0 m2

Project Year

2017

Photographs

Courtesy of Vincent Callebaut Architectures