Milan, one of the trendsetting capitals of the world, is applying their avant-garde tactics off the runway as well with 'vertical forests'.

The city has become one of the most polluted in Italy; with little room for an oxygen-giving forest in the middle of the bustling fashion capital, the only place to go was up.

Architect Stefano Boeri designed Bosco Verticale, a vertical forest which will plant 900 trees on the balconies of two towers. This vegetation produces the same ecological footprint as 10,000 square meters of forest. And anyway, this way is much more fashion-forward.

Aside from looking ridiculously gorgeous, the vertical forest has abundant positive eco-effects as well. The plants will produce humidity and oxygen while protecting from radiation and pollution through absorbing carbon dioxide. The towers will use Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems to increase the buildings' self-sufficiency.

They will also attract birds and insects, creating a miniature ecosystem. The skyscraper forest was called “the most exciting new tower in the world” by the Financial Times and serves as an inspiration to other industrial spaces wishing to buffer their pollution output.

See another sustainable design in FIXd Architecture/Design's shapeshifting home below.

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PHOTO GALLERY Mo Ventus Rendering