To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bosco Verticale, this book traces the history of a building that has become a symbol of Milan.

From the outset, the concept developed by Stefano Boeri for a residential building in 2004 proved to be forward-looking as it anticipated the new frontiers of urban living. Ten years after its inauguration, the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) has kept all its promises and launched a new way of imagining contemporary cities.

This book celebrates an architectural work that has become the symbol of a renewed collective sensibility toward care for the environment and the plant world. Edited by Stefano Boeri Architetti, it traces its entire history. “The Bosco Verticale is one of the few ‘living’ buildings whose life is still followed ten years later.” This was the inspiration behind the editorial structure of the volume, which is formed of three sections that evoke the growth of a tree: roots, trunk, and branches and leaves.

The various texts contributed by international authors and scholars are accompanied by drawings, sketches, and photographs of the construction site and the building that changes over the course of the seasons and years. The material comes from the archives of Studio Boeri Architetti and photo shoots that document the evolution of the project over the years. It features a photographic portfolio by Iwan Baan made specifically for the book, which also includes photos of the area from above and photos of the apartments that frame the city, filtered by the leaves of trees and plants.