Il Vertical Forest in Milan dominates the ranking of the most loved green buildings on Instagram in the world. The famous structure, constantly admired and photographed by Italians and foreigners, boasts well 124 thousand posts with related hashtag.
It is the perfect example of how today we tend to convey important messages from environmental sustainability. It is vital to harness creative ways to incorporate green features into next-generation designs. A change, however necessary, will be slowed by public opinion if imposed. Changes made in an intriguing way, which can fascinate, are quite another matter.
The most popular green buildings
The search via Instagram was carried out by “Insulation4Less”, which analyzed the social diffusion of the main green buildings in the world. But how were these examples of sustainable architecture selected? Some have been taken into account criteria to be met:
- Absence of carbon emissions
- Use of renewable energy or energy saving screens
Once the list of green buildings was obtained, all that was needed was to carry out the related searches on Instagram. The famous social network then provided the data of the popular hashtags, with related posts created on the theme.
Thus the Vertical Forest obtained first place. This is a prototype building subdivided into two towers, respectively 80 and 112 meters high. The concept behind this new architecture is biodiversity. An example of sharing spaces between humans and other species, in total balance. All in the area of Porta Nuova, a Milano.
A total of 800 trees is present in this complex, completed in 2014. Several advantages brought by the enormous mass of vegetation present. Pollution is significantly reduced, due to the production of oxygen that occurs all around. An insulating effect is obtained that allows energy savings and, at the same time, a new green lung for the city is created.
The project belongs to Stefano Boeri Architetti studio, which has received numerous awards, including the Highrise Award, the CTBUH Award and the Council for Tall Building and Urban Habitat.
The ranking
If the Vertical Forest is at the top of the ranking of the most popular green buildings on Instagram. Who occupies the other eight positions? Here is the rest of the ranking:
- 10 - Once Angel Square - Manchester, England: this is the COOP headquarters, with a double facade that manages to cool in summer and heat in winter. All this reduces carbon emissions by 80%;
- 9 - Marco Polo Tower - Hamburg, Germany: a 55 meter high tower directly on the Elbe. Take advantage of solar panels to cool rooms throughout the building;
- 8 - Cube Building - Berlin, Germany: the glass facade is clad with solar panels. There are also other solutions to capture thermal energy;
- 7 - CopenHill - Copenhagen, Denmark: it is the greenest waste-to-energy plant in the world. Every year it converts more than 440 thousand tons of waste in the world into clean energy;
- 6 - Pricewaterhousecoopers Building - London, UK: various energy saving strategies. The building offers shade and isolation to the residents, with solar panels for heating the water system, a fully automated facility management system and a green roof;
- 5 - Museums of Tomorrow - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Made with local materials, it features mobile solar panels, which aim to maximize the sun's rays. There is also a rainwater collection system, recycled through the structure's air conditioning systems;
- 4 - Vancouver Convention Center - Vancouver, Canada: boasts the largest roof garden in Canada, with more than 4 plants and herbs of various kinds. The roof is also home to 240 bees. Area irrigated with water which is then recycled by the treatment plant;
- 3 - Torre Reforma - Mexico City, Mexico: perhaps the most environmentally sustainable green building in Latin America. It allows you to save 30% on water consumption and more than 80% of its materials are of regional origin;
- 2 - Shanghai Tower - Shanghai, China: it is the tallest green skyscraper in China, with 43 different sustainable technologies. It includes renewable energy sources, landscaping designed to cool the structure, spiral parapet that collects rainwater and much more.
