VERTICAL GREEN SYSTEMS: DESIGN PRINCIPLES, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

Abstrak

Vertical Green Systems (VGS) - including green facades, living walls, and vertical forests - represent an emerging architectural approach that integrates vegetation into building envelopes to mitigate urban heat, air pollution, stormwater stress, and biodiversity decline. This paper provides an evidence-based qualitative analysis of VGS design principles, environmental performance, and socio-economic implications. Two flagship projects by Stefano Boeri Architetti are examined as primary case studies: Bosco Verticale (Milan, 2014) as a luxury prototype and Trudo Vertical Forest (Eindhoven, 2021) as a social-housing-oriented adaptation. The study synthesizes published technical documentation and peer-reviewed literature to compare typology, structural requirements, horticultural strategies, irrigation and maintenance models, and expected environmental benefits (microclimate regulation, habitat creation, and pollutant reduction). Socio-economic dimensions are assessed through life-cycle considerations, operational maintenance burden, and equity implications of access to green living.