This morning we were at Bosco Verticale, the “Vertical Forest”: a veritable roof garden, a natural ecosystem, a ‘green’ building that has just won the International Highrise Award 2014, i.e. an acknowledgement for "the most beautiful skyscraper in the world,” selected out of over 800 facilities around the globe. We at Fontanot are pleased to be the supplier of the beautiful staircase that catches the eye in the lobby entrance. The award was created in 2003 thanks to an idea from the city of Frankfurt, the Museum of Architecture in Frankfurt (DAM) and the lender DekaBank.
We verified the work-in -progress of the installation: there are still some details left to be taken care of, such as the laying of the steps and finish, but the macro-structure is in place and the effect is truly remarkable. The hall is illuminated by the contrast of transparent glass and shiny metal of the stairs, giving the atmosphere a wider feel and a splash of light.
This residence in Porta Nuova is an ambitious and wide-ranging urban redevelopment, in an ever-expanding area: Milan is preparing to host Expo 2015 with what Boeri, designer of the Vertical Forest, has called "manifest biodiversity."
The two towers that comprise the residential centre are 100 and 80 meters high respectively, and the key feature, as the name suggests, is the amount of green that welcomes visitors: there are more than 1,000 plant species that decorate the apartments and spacious terraces, not to mention the more than 90,000 square meters of the "Giardini de Castilia" park that surround them.
And that's not all: the Contract section of Fontanot is participating in numerous projects in Milan linked to Expo and urban evolution of the city towards a more futuristic area that is more functional, beautiful and international. Among these structures is the Isozaki tower, for which we will provide the staircase connecting the lobby, as well as Sempione Lifestyle, a residential area characterized by the desire to save energy, for which we will install the railings outside the apartments in tempered glass.