British architecture firm Heatherwick Studio Designed the Two Tree Covered Mountains Complex in 2015; construction is expected to be completed next year.
More and more, architects and city planners are looking for ways to continue to build new structures while also taking into account the environmental impact. For some, it is simply a matter of aesthetic, while for others it has the added bonus of helping to improve the quality of life of those nearby. A new construction project in Shanghai, China is a little of both.
In 2015, China commissioned the British architecture firm Heatherwick Studio to create a new structure within Shanghai’s art district. With air pollution already a major factor in all of China’s megacities, the firm considered ways to offer something original and practical, while also factoring in the need for flora in a city that desperately needs all the carbon dioxide scrubbing greenery it can get. The answer was something most probably wouldn’t have expected: two tree covered mountains made out of glass, concrete, and steel.
The structure is a 300,000 square meter mixed use development that will include residential housing, offices, shops, a hotel, and even a school. Several historical buildings will also be incorporated into the new structure, and vegetation – especially trees – will cover everything.
The complex features multiple block structures, with several smaller blocks descending away two large, central pillars. From a distance, it will give the effect of looking at a mountain – technically two mountains – covered in trees.
“Conceived not as a building but as a piece of topography, the design takes the form of two tree-covered mountains, populated by approximately one thousand structural columns,” said Heatherwick Studio.
The “mountains” will consist of staggered rooflines with 400 terraces and 1,000 columns topped with plants. The two “peaks” will be on opposite sides of the structure, with the taller of the two creating a large, wedge-shaped structure that will tower over everything. The two sides will be split by a strip of land owned by the government, and it will be flanked by a park and a river.
Construction is already well underway, with work expected to be completed in 2018. Some of the vegetation will probably be brought in already partially grown, but it might take a few years for everything to bloom and grow in order to give the structure its full, intended look. When it does, it should help – at least a little – with the air quality.
While the air quality in China is notoriously bad, often leading to severe health conditions for its citizens, Shanghai actually offers some of the best air in the country. Granted, that is graded on a curve, but the local government in Shanghai has taken air quality seriously, so expect to see more structures like this -and more eco-friendly buildings that work with the environment rather than against it – in the future.
Drone footage of the construction site was recently released, which you can watch below. It is still in the early stages, but you can get an idea of what it will look like in the future. And assuming it is a hit, don’t be surprised to see similar constructions all over the world.