Stefano Boeri, an Italian architecture firm is creating a complete urban center with a vertical forest concept called Smart Forest City located in Mexico.
Located right outside Cancun, this sprawling green environment is so innovatively designed that nature is present in all green and architecturally built areas. Smart Forest City is designed on 1,376 acres of land that was previously meant for a shopping center to be built on. 130,000 inhabitants of this area can now enjoy residing in this brilliantly design sustainable city that Boeri has poured his creativity on.
Nearly 1,000 acres of this total project is completely dedicated to greenery. There will be 2.3 for every residence, which makes the total green space population to 7.5 million plants.
400 different plant species will be living in Smart Forest City, all of which were carefully chosen by botanist and landscape architect, Laura Gatti. Different trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers will not only grow in the parks and gardens, but also cover green roofs and vertical facades which in turn will make the city energy efficient.
Boeri and his design team has estimated that Smart Forest City will be able to absorb 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Because the ultimate goal is for this city to be a learning and research hub with regards to environmental issues and new technology, it includes an advanced research center with top-notch facilities for the following: bio-healthcare, robotics and mobility, smart city, astrophysics and planetary science and coral reef restoration.
Thanks to the German company Transsolar, which is known for innovating in the built environment, Smart Forest City is also designed to be food and energy self-sufficient. It was designed to have a ring of solar panels and agricultural fields that will be irrigated with underground pipes connected to a water channel, which is one of the key elements in the city.
There is a large basin by the city’s entrance which is distributed to different channels. Apart from that water source, there are also water gardens incorporated in the landscape that will cut down on possible flooding. Another innovative idea that has been added to this project is a specially designed mobility system. This will allow the residents to park their cars right outside the city and make use of only electric and semi-automatic modes of transport inside the city.
Architect Boeri is inching his way closer to seeing his grandest dream of a fully sustainable urban city environment come true.
“Smart Forest City Cancun is a Botanical Garden, within a contemporary city, based on Mayan heritage and in its relationship with the natural and sacred world. An urban ecosystem where nature and city are intertwined and act as one organism,” says the firm.
Boeri unveiled his project to regional authorities early last year and is awaiting approval before the commencement of construction.
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