Criticism of Bosco Vertical in Milan and the author's advice to try Virginia creeper

Most contemporary architectural projects look far better as visualisations than as built reality. So it was with the luxury residential complex Bosco Vertical in Milan, literally a "vertical forest", which in practice turned out to be not quite so green or so mysterious. Once construction was complete, the project came in for serious criticism: both for being dearer than expected and for being less comfortable than advertised. As for the trees, some residents wished to replace the plants, others struggled to look after the greenery, and certain parts of the buildings stayed treacherously bald for a long time. In short, another case in which expectations and reality chose to live apart. And I remember the house of my childhood, on its north side wreathed in the spreading lianas of wild vine planted by my grandmother back in the 1970s. No watering, no fuss, just a well-chosen spot and a little love. It has been a long time since I saw houses wreathed in vine in Moscow; I recall one wall on Granatny, but our
management companies do not hold natural and sensible greenery in much esteem. Whoever it may be meant for, Italians or Russians, I advise everyone to take a closer look at Virginia creeper and its endemic counterparts