Stefano Boeri

Stefano Boeri is an architect and urban planner recognized for his contributions to contemporary architecture and urban planning. Boeri serves as full professor of urban planning at Politecnico di Milano and director of the Future City Lab at Tongji University in Shanghai. Throughout his career, Boeri has worked as an architect, urban designer and planner, scholar, theoretician, curator, communicator, and public official.

Boeri founded Multiplicity, a research agency and multidisciplinary collective composed of architects, geographers, artists, urban planners, photographers, sociologists, economists, and filmmakers. The group is active in producing design strategies, workshops, installations, and publications related to urban transformation processes.

Boeri is known internationally for the "Bosco Verticale" (Vertical Forest) project in Milan. The Vertical Forest consists of two skyscrapers in the Isola district of Milan, measuring 112 and 80 meters tall. The facades accommodate 800 trees, 15,000 perennials and ground cover plants, and 5,000 shrubs, forming a model of urban densification that contributes to energy savings, environmental improvement, and urban biodiversity without expanding the city into surrounding territory. Upon completion, the Bosco Verticale received several architecture awards, including the International Highrise Award and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Award for best tall building in the world. The Vertical Forest in Milan was also named one of 20 winners of the Royal Institute of British Architects Award for International Excellence. The project has become a global prototype, with Boeri designing similar structures in Switzerland, the Netherlands—including the "Trudo Vertical Forest" in Eindhoven—and multiple cities in China. Boeri and his studio received the MIPIM Award in the Best Mixed-Use Project category for the "Wonderwoods Vertical Forest" building in the Netherlands.

Boeri's practice encompasses a wide range of urban and architectural work. He is known for research, visions, and master plans on the future of urban environments, and has been involved in regeneration and development projects for cities including Shanghai, São Paulo, Moscow, Geneva, Tirana, Eindhoven, Utrecht, Cancun, Riyadh, Cairo, and numerous Italian cities. Notable projects include the "Villa Méditerranée" in Marseille and the "House of the Sea" of La Maddalena. During the post-earthquake reconstruction of Central Italy, Boeri was appointed as an expert urban planning consultant for all earthquake-affected territories. His firm received recognition for Professional Leadership in Biodiversity in Architecture by the US Green Building Council.

Boeri has influenced architectural discourse as editor-in-chief of the international architecture magazine Domus and subsequently of Abitare. He is the author of several books on urbanism, architecture, and contemporary culture, including "L'anticittà," "Biomilano: Glossary of Ideas for a Metropolis Based on Biodiversity," and "USE: Uncertain States of Europe." His design philosophy is further articulated in "Green Obsession: Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests," which addresses the integration of living vegetation in urban spaces. Boeri has served as a visiting professor at international universities, including Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Berlage Institute, and Columbia University.

Boeri is active in the global conversation on climate change and sustainable cities. His firm's "Green Obsession" design approach earned the UN SDGs Action Award from the United Nations in the Inspire category, recognizing its vision for sustainable cities and communities that prioritize health and well-being while intensifying climate action through creative urban planning, ecological connectivity, and urban forestry. Boeri presented the Green Urban Oases project at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, carried out with FAO, C40, and other international research institutes, and serves as co-chair and member of the scientific committee of the World Forum on Urban Forests. As president of Triennale Milano, Boeri has also served as commissioner of the 24th International Exhibition, Inequalities. His career bridges design, scholarship, cultural leadership, and environmental advocacy, establishing Boeri as a significant figure in architecture, sustainable urbanism, and climate-responsive design.