Sustainable cities: super timber, vertical forests, vertical farming

To a globe faced with climate challenges, trees could provide one way out – this was the main takeaway of a panel discussion at the Palais des Nations, Geneva today.

“Forests provide the solution to many of the sustainability problems that we will face in an urbanized world,” said Olga Algayerova, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), at this year’s celebration of the International Day of Forests.

Algayerova offered opening remarks at the event, along with Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office with the UN in Geneva.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Forests highlights the key role played by forests in creating sustainable cities. The panel discussion, organised by UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section and the UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit, together with the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, featured innovative ideas on urban farming, wood construction, and architecture, to show that technology and ingenuity have no limits when creating sustainable and green cities.

The event featured eminent speakers in a series of presentations moderated by Paola Deda, chief of the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section.

Foo Kok Jwee, permanent representative of Singapore to the UN in Geneva, emphasised the importance of vertical farming as it “optimises land use in land-scarce Singapore and can operate on minimal manpower.”

Another speaker, Stefano Boeri is famous for creating the vertical forests model for sustainable residential buildings. The vertical forest’s vegetal system contributes to the construction of a microclimate, produces humidity, absorbs carbon dioxide and dust particles, and produces oxygen, he said. This is not only instrumental in curbing climate change but also utilises accessible building material for large-scale construction projects. Compared to concrete, steel, cement, and glass, wood requires less energy in production and instead of emitting carbon, it stores it. Boeri spoke alongside fellow architect Maria Chiara Pastore.

Michael Ramage, director of the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at the University of Cambridge, was instrumental in the design of the “Toothpick,” a wooden skyscraper that could become the second-tallest building in London. In his discussion of “supertall timber,” Ramage discussed wood construction involving cross-laminated timber, a material made of many sheets of wood glued and compressed together; it is stronger than steel and a viable candidate for building skyscrapers, he said.
One large tree can also absorb 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year and thereby act as a carbon sink to help mitigate climate change and lower cities’ carbon footprints. With 1.9 billion hectares, corresponding to more than 40 percent of the total forest area, UNECE countries have more forests than any other region of the world. As urbanisation grows, forests can be instrumental. And when it comes to creating sustainable cities, technology and ingenuity have no limits.

For pictures of the event, please see: www.flickr.com/photos/121632478@N08/albums/72157691247014672

21 March 2018, Geneva, Switzerland