1. FEEDER: Elevated Highway Farm
Studio Gang
Some text from Inhabitat: "Transforming the Ohio highway feeder ramp and transforming it into a ramp that feeds. Called FEEDER, the project would populate the underutilized open highway space with urban greenhouses and gardens where the public can grow their own produce and green space for even those with browner thumbs to enjoy."
2. "Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter"
Jung Min Nam
An interesting one (along with lots of juicy new content) on the Vertical Farming site. This one courtesy of a link (along with good dialogue on the viability of Vertical Farming in general) from Animal Architecture. Here's the visuals of the Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter project from Jung Min Nam (check out more on the site).
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:: images via Vertical Farm Project
3. Farm CityChris Hardewick
Text via Doors of Perception: "Farm City is a proposal for a new kind of architecture that would enable cities to feed themselves. It is a skyscraper for living and farming. We are running out of land outside our cities to feed ourselves. Urban sprawl is consuming valuable agricultural land and agricultural lands are encroaching on sensitive wilderness ecosystems. Farm City is a project that creates agricultural area inside new housing towers." (thanks to mr. holmes for the link)
I love the feeder idea--making lemonade out of the lemons that our highway ramps seem to be. But I think the vertical farms have a far greater likelihood of profitability and being able to be at an appropriate scale.
ReplyDeleteI bet veggies would prefer their own skyscraper floor to trying to grow with auto exhaust constantly being pumped into their atmosphere too.
Urban agriculture is very important, not necessarily as a sprawl remedy, but as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of a city, get people back in touch with the reality of how food is grown, and increase the supply of locally grown food both for the sake of energy efficiency and control of pesticides.
I personally would be concerned about the accumulation of unhealthy chemical and particular agents in the highway ramp farm concept. Benzene, hydrocarbons, exhaust particulates and many other nasty chemicals and materials will, no doubt, accumulate on and in the plants and growing media/soil. An interesting concept but perhaps not the best place to be growing our food.
ReplyDeleteAs for vertical farms in sky scrapers, I'm not sure the architects that think these things up are aware of all the practical matters associated with farming. Sufficient light (without high energy consuming HID lights) is a key problem. Additionally, soil management, insect and disease control, harvesting, waste management and other such practical matters present certain complications and limitations that I hope are being considered realistically.
I like the idea of food being grown where we live, work and drive. On the Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter project, I wonder how much of that grey water treatment plant could be eliminated if there was tight control of the types of soaps and detergents used on the floors above. Also, I've heard that vegetables grown hydroponically are less nutritious than those grown in soil. If water loss is a concern, what about a soil garden design that includes an impermeable layer underneath the soil for capture and recycling of any irrigation water that is not taken up by the plants' roots? Why go for hydroponics over a microbiologically active soil?
ReplyDelete