Grow High

MaryBeth Bonfiglio
Vertical Farming.jpg

By the year 2050, there will be over 10 billion people residing on Earth. Eighty percent of these people will be living in urban centers, where little land mass is available to cultivate food. In order for everyone to eat, new farming methods are essential. The Vertical Farming Project proposes to grow "inside and high," using multi-story buildings in controlled environments to ensure healthy harvests and maximum crop yields.

With increased global warming, crop destruction is becoming more widespread. Fertile land is rapidly becoming inhabited by the human population and traditional factory farms are plagued with poisons and unconscious methods of growth. With Vertical Farming, it would be possible to grow without pesticides, going completely organic. The project proposes the conversion of black and gray water into potable water through the collection via "evapotranspiration." Being centered in urban landscapes, employment opportunities would be created. Most importantly this project can provide food without compromising land and using sustainable methods.

Comments

Keeping the Ecology in Design

Submitted by BradCharlesMelzer on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 13:08.
I've worked on a variety of ecological design projects with such heavyweights as Murray Bookchin & John Todd and have seen a few projects like this over the years. There is a definite evolution going on here and I believe we are at the threshold of making something like this a reality. One of the things to be wary of in a situation like this is too much of a reliance on western, reductionist models to inform it's design. What the best of us in the ecological design world are striving to do is to create projects based on natural system and that are harmonious with natural systems. Western science looks for "Magic Bullets" and nature tends to rely on complexity and interconnectedness to create healthy systems. I'm actually currently working on a different version of VF on the island of Puerto Rico; an aquaponics project utilizing vertical space with towers that hold rotating trays full of crops. It is a recirculating freshwater system based on natural process that utilizes fish waste as a source of nutrient for plants. Essentially the plants eat the fish poop (with the help of microbes) and clean up the water that goes back to the fish. We're trying to design the system to be run off of alternative energy sources and be an ecotourism destination; it is multi-faceted.

VF in P Rico

Submitted by John X on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 22:47.
Brad,
When do you expect your design to be up and running?