This article was taken from the February 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

The big problem with high-rise developments is the lack of greenery. But Milan's Bosco Verticale apartment complex, designed by architect Stefano Boeri, offers a solution: its twin towers house hundreds of individual trees (the name translates as "vertical forest"). "Seventy per cent of the world's tallest buildings were built in the last ten years, 96 per cent of which are covered by a glass skin," says Boeri, 58. "This has disadvantages. I wanted to have a skin that was organic, a living thing."

Each of the building's 113 apartments has its own balcony; as well as creating a garden, the trees and plants help to absorb sunlight, filter pollution and protect the building from inclement weather. The steel-reinforced planting beds are designed to house and maintain the trees (900 trees will be in place on completion).

Boeri consulted botanists to develop a suitable soil and choose species appropriate to the high and exposed conditions. The architects designed an irrigation system using waste water, and photovoltaic panels on the roof help lower the apartments' carbon footprints. "It works very much like a tree," says Boeri.

In addition to the 30 or so families that have already moved in, the building is attracting other inhabitants. "We have bats, and there is a falcon on the 36th floor." (A dedicated gardening team looks after not only the trees, but also any wildlife they attract.)

For Boeri, the Bosco isn't just about creating homes -- it's the future of architecture. "The inhabitants feel like they're part of an experiment," he says. "We can now imagine replicating this technology for a much lower cost. It's about nature, it's about the common good."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK