Eco Utopia

Photo credit: The Big Picture

This might be pie in the sky dreaming currently, but the design for a smart forest city by Stefano Boeri Architetti for Grupo Karim is an inspiring one. You’d probably recognise the studio’s other designs, where nature and architecture are always allies, rather than uneasy foes.

The concept itself covers 557 hectares, with 2.3 trees per inhabitant (of which it could house 130,000 people). Unlike most cities, this one could absorb 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide with 5800 tons of CO2 stocked per year.

Living in a city doesn’t mean we need to sacrifice greenery for uncaring concrete.