A spectacular global survey of the new buildings merging architecture and nature to transform our cities for a sustainable future.

Concrete horizons, urban sprawl, high-density living: never have our cities and their buildings been in greater need of greening. Yet what’s required is more than an occasional vertical garden or living roof. Featuring seventy projects from around the world – some built, some ongoing, some from the future – Garden City looks at the increasingly inventive ways in which architects and designers are incorporating nature into the built environment, transforming the city for the benefit of all.

From office buildings that incorporate urban farms and exchange the CO2 produced by humans for food and oxygen produced by plants, to lightweight systems for growing gardens on vertical surfaces; from ‘tree houses’ the size of city blocks to civic buildings that are ‘plugged into’ existing water-management systems – there are rich and often unexpected ideas for every inquiring designer.

The future of our urban architecture is biologically alert, naturally self-sustaining and alive. Garden City is this future’s first manifesto.

Anna Yudina is a writer and curator interested in the cross-boundary cooperation between architecture, design, science, technology and art. She is currently teaching a course in cross-disciplinary creativity at Polimoda, Florence. She co-founded and was for 12 years editor-in-chief of MONITOR magazine, and has written several books, including Furnitecture, Lumitecture and HomeWork for Thames & Hudson.