7th March 2014

World's tallest vertical garden will rise to 46 storeys

With self-sustaining gardens, this new eco-friendly skyscraper in Sri Lanka will give residents a sensation of ground-level living. The 46-storey tower is planned for completion in 2016.

Pictured here is Clear Point Residences, a new high-rise apartment complex in Kotte, Sri Lanka. The $100 million project – the first of its kind in the country – features an innovative design that is highly sustainable. This includes solar panels for electricity generation, planted facades, automated drip irrigation and water recycling systems.

These self-sustaining gardens provide cool and shady terraces, ensuring that no windows are exposed to direct sunlight, which therefore reduces the need for air conditioning units. They offer enhanced privacy and a tranquil environment that absorbs CO2, air and noise pollution. All of the apartments are cross-ventilated to provide further cooling. In addition to lowering energy consumption, the utility systems cut water usage from the grid by 45% – thanks to harvested rainwater, recycled bathroom water and on-site sewage treatment. Moreover, steps have been taken to allow the building to evolve in time with necessary additions from advancements in technology.

As designer Milroy Perera states: "Ultimately, the aim is to create a living space where you can not only feel at one with the environment, but actively contribute towards safeguarding and sustainable use of its resources. We are working very closely with our contractors Maga Engineering to enable the first self-sustaining building in Sri Lanka. The main focus of the apartment will be to provide an atmosphere and sentiment of ground-level living."

The 186 m (610 ft) structure will consist of 164 three bedroom apartments, four apartments per level, each of 2,300 ft² with all internal spaces opening into planted terraces. The apartments are designed in a sleek and sophisticated manner. Construction of the tower is now underway and due for completion in early 2016, at which point it will become the world's tallest vertical garden – surpassing the 33-storey, 117 m (384 ft) One Central Park in Sydney, Australia. Given the environmental challenges the world faces, eco-towers like these could be fairly commonplace by 2050.

Click to enlarge

Comments »