Stefano Boeri Architetti shot to international fame after the firm’s vertical forest project in Milan – Bosco Verticale – was named the best tall building worldwide in 2015 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Since then, the Italian architecture firm has brought the vertical forest concept to neighbouring Switzerland, where the Tower of Cedars project is currently under construction in the city of Lausanne.

Now, Stefano Boeri Architetti is looking eastwards to China where it will build two towers in the city of Nanjing. A total of 1,100 trees from 23 local species and 2,500 cascading plants shrubs will cover the building facades. The towers will help regenerate local biodiversity while absorbing 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide and producing around 60 kilograms of oxygen per day, as the architects explain. The project is slated for completion in 2018.

While Nanjing Towers will be the first vertical forest in Asia, they could soon be followed by a second project in the remote 10 Thousand Peaks Area in Guizhou province. According to archdaily, Stefano Boeri Architetti recently unveiled plans for a 31,200 square metre resort hotel that seeks to mimic the unique ecosystem and relationship between humans and nature in the area.