Stefano Boeri will create a floating forest in Milan's Darsena

Architect Stefano Boeri will create a floating forest in the center of Milan, in Darsena. It is Floating Forest, a floating multi-sensory forest designed for Timberland, on the occasion of Milan Design Week, as an independent ecosystem on the water of the Darsena, where 610 trees and more than 30 species (including Maple, Birch and Apple trees; shrubs such as Black Aronia, Hydrangea, Mahonia and Pittosporum; herbaceous perennials such as Stipa, Eulalia, Anemone, Emerocallis, Purple Verbena and Pampa) intend to multiply biodiversity, activating the environmental benefits related to urban forestation, in connection with other green spaces in Milan.

The goal of the Floating Forest installation is not only to convey new forms of environmental responsibility and new ways of occupying and transforming urban spaces, but to offer a place for the natural sphere to meet and reconcile with citizens. The installation will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 7 to 12 at Viale Gabriele D’Annunzio 20.

According to Boeri, urban forestation is a key step to counter the effects of climate change and to improve the quality of life of citizens. This is why cities should be greener: an urban forest can become an opportunity to improve the healthiness of the environment, and implement biodiversity, allowing us to enhance our heritage for future generations. The installation by Timberland, whose mission is to equip and inspire the next generation to move the world forward, stems from the importance of the role nature plays, emphasizing the brand’s vision for a greener and more equitable future, as well as the concept of circularity, where nothing is wasted. The project also wants to emphasize the brand’s green commitment not only by promoting the greening of urban areas, but also by highlighting the latest in eco-innovative products.

So here comes an attraction made on the water of Milan’s Darsena, a disruptive element in the urban landscape, designed by Stefano Boeri Interiors. The multidisciplinary studio founded by Stefano Boeri and Giorgio Donà develops projects and research in interior architecture, exhibition design and product design. The forest will thus offer an immersion, both physical and virtual, that through the scent of flowers and the tactile quality of the selected species, will try to involve all the senses.

The path within the installation will have four key stages related to the different senses and will lead visitors to interact with the latest product eco-innovations and brand values. The sensory elements will be integrated with an on-site digital experience, while for those unable to attend the Fuorisalone, the experience will be online. The project also aims to be a legacy for the city by supporting a local community: all the trees that make up the forest will later be donated to Soulfood Forestfarms Hub Italia, a nonprofit organization that facilitates the ecological transition of territories together with local communities̀, institutions and businesses.

Together with CasciNet Agrohub and the University of Milan, it is implementing a regeneration project at Vettabbia Park to transform disused land into a productive, complex and stratified agroforestry system managed according to agroecological principles. In addition, the materials that make up the installation are deliberately assembled “dry.” This technique allows for great flexibility in assembly and reassembly as well as the reuse of individual elements once the installation is decommissioned.

Pictured is a rendering of Floating Forest.

Stefano Boeri will create a floating forest in Milan's Darsena

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