Week 10
Vertical Farming
BURAK ÇELİK
ADA412 Contemporary Problems in Urban Sustainability Bilkent University Department of Architecture 08.04.2018
Vertical Farming Vertical farming is cultivating plant life within a skyscraper greenhouse, warehouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. The modern ideas of vertical farming use indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled.
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BY 2050, some 80% of the world's population will live in cities. Such growth is placing immense pressure on our built infrastructure and driving considerable research and exploration into sustainable development and the evolving concept of "smart cities". Vertical farming literally turns the concept of traditional farming on its side and sees food produced in high rise buildings occupying small footprints in some of the world's densest cities
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Dickson Despommier feels that there is a great need for inner city blocks to have their own immediate source of food where plants will be grown without soil, by means of aeroponics and hydroponics within buildings already known as "farmscrapers".
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How Cities could be food producers of the future? Growing good in cities would increase yields, cut transport costs and overcome limited land area.
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Why do we need it? It is the need to increase crop yield without increasing the land area for crops. If we can move some of that away from the countryside into the city, and get some of that food production close to the high concentrations of population, then we can make a real impact.
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How high ? The beauty of vertical farming is that you can go as high as you want – if you have a system that works efficiently. The only risk with that is getting things that plants need like water and nutrients up there. And you need a way of getting your product out efficiently.
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Can we grow all crops like this? Wheat, maize and rice – these things that provide the bulk of our calorieswill be very difficult to grow on a vertical farm because you need to accumulate a massive biomass for those crops. But you can grow tomatoes, lettuces, green crops.
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What is the challenge? Energy will be the great limiting factor for this. Plants need a lot of light for photosynthesis. There's a couple of examples in the US of warehouses being converted into stacks of plants. They use LED lights which are cool, efficient lights you can put close to the plants. They are very efficient at making plants grow and you can control plant growth very well, but again you need energy to do that.
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Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages: Efficient Method Protection from Harsh Weather Condition Reduce Water Usage and Wastage No Spoilage of Produce
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Disadvantages: • High Cost • Limited Varieties of Vegetables and Fruits • Pollination costs • Dependence on Technology
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Case Study 1: Eco Laboratory The Eco Laboratory is an exemplary green complex designed around a vibrant community garden In Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Conceived by Weber Thompson, the project recently won the Natural Design Talent Competition at Greenbuild. The innovative design focuses upon energy systems, natural ventilation, community aspects, renewable energy, and indoor air quality, resulting in a spectacular example of what green building is about.
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Case Study 2: Harvest Green Project/ Romses Architects The Harvest Tower, designed by Canada-based firm Romses Architects, can offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply, year round crop production, and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for large-scale traditional horizontal farming.
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References: • https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/06/vertical-farmingexplained-erik-murchie • https://www.theb1m.com/video/what-is-vertical-farming • https://www.archdaily.com/21555/harvest-green-project-romses-architects • https://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2011/07/24/harvest-greenproject-by-romses-architects/