_Vertical Farm

_Description

Academic project

Year: 2021

Information:

The vertical farm concept was coined in 1999 by biologist Dickson Despommier of the University of Columbia, in New York. However, Dickson was not the first to idealize it, since in 1979 the physicist Cesare Marchetti had already developed something similar.

A vertical farm is a spatial set intended for the production of food and medicine in layers vertical. This practice, designed mainly for large urban centers, has been seen as the future technology to power the next generations. The idea is to use automated installations with the least possible environmental impact. The alternative is considered sustainable by its advocates. On the other hand, those who oppose the technique claim that the financial costs do not outweigh the benefits.

In a vertical farm, in addition to the production of food and medicine in stacked layers vertically, surfaces can be used tilted vertically and/or integrated into other structures such as skyscrapers, warehouses and shipping containers. The techniques employed basically boil down to indoor farming and environmentally controlled farming (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled.

These installations use artificial light control, environmental control (humidity, temperature, gases, etc.) and fertigation. Some vertical farms use techniques similar to greenhouses, where the use of natural sunlight can be complemented with artificial lighting and optimized with metallic reflectors.

4th floor

- administration

- cup for employees

4º PAVIMENTO -ADMINISTRAÇÃO -COPA PARA FUNCIONÁRIOS -CULTURA DE VEGETAIS AO AR LIVRE DESTINADOS À VENDA DIRETA (SEM USO DE AGROTOXICOS E CONSERVANTES)

- cultivation of outdoor vegetables intended for direct sale (without the use of pesticides and preservatives)

3rd floor

- seed bank

- bee/honey culture in highly controlled environment

3º PAVIMENTO

-growing vegetables in a highly controlled environment

-BANCO DE SEMENTES -CULTURA DE ABELHAS / MEL EM AMBIENTE ALTAMENTE CONTROLADO -CULTURA DE LEGUMES EM AMBIENTE ALTAMENTE CONTROLADO

2nd floor

- cultivation of vegetables in the air free intended for sale (no use of pesticides and preservatives)

2º PAVIMENTO

-CULTURA DE VEGETAIS AO AR LIVRE DESTINADOS À VENDA DIRETA (SEM USO DE AGROTOXICOS E CONSERVANTES) -CULTURA DE LEGUMES EM AMBIENTE ALTAMENTE CONTROLADO

-growing vegetables in a highly controlled environment

1st floor

- food warehouse

1º PAVIMENTO

- cold chamber

- hydroponic polyculture (vegetables, legumes and Vegetables)

-ARMAZÉM DE ALIMENTOS -CÂMARA FRIA -POLICULTURA HIDROPÔNICA (VERDURAS, LEGUMINOSAS E HORTALIÇAS)

Ground floor

TÉRREO

- entry of employees and visitors

-ENTRADA DE FUNCIONÁRIOS E VISITANTES

- sale and distribution of products

- space for holding cultural and gastronomic fairs

-VENDA E DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE PRODUTOS -ESPAÇO PARA REALIZAÇÃO DE FEIRAS CULTURAIS E GASTRONOMICAS

The United Nations (UN) points out that the world population should increase by three billion people by 2050, reaching ten billion inhabitants. The UN also indicates that around 80% of the soil suitable for agricultural cultivation is compromised — 15% of which is devastated by inadequate land use.

With that estimate, agricultural production would need to increase by a billion hectares, which would be unlikely with current farming practices. In the quest to readjust plantation spaces, vertical farms emerge as a sustainable solution. The North American consulting firm Grand View Research estimates that the vertical farming sector should move US$ 9.6 billion by 2025. Through controlled environments and vertical planting panels, this type of planting is able to readjust work spaces, reduce water consumption, growing products without the need to use pesticides and with less fertilizer.

Ecologist Dickson Despommier defends the installation of vertical farms on the grounds that the vertical farming can help reduce hunger. According to him, changing the way of using the land from horizontal to vertical makes it possible to reduce pollution and the use of energy incorporated in agricultural processes.

According to Despommier, although vertical farming depletes the natural landscape, it offers in return the idea of “a skyscraper as a spaceship”. Cultivations would be mass-produced within hermetically sealed artificial environments, which could be built anywhere, regardless of the context.

The vertical farm would be designed to be sustainable and allow nearby inhabitants to work on it. In contrast, architect Ken Teang proposes that skyscrapers in cultivation be mixed-use. Yeang proposes that instead of hermetically sealed mass-produced agriculture, plant life should be cultivated outdoors, on rooftops for example. This version of vertical farming is based on personal use or community rather than mass production. Thus, it would require less initial investment than Despommier’s “vertical farm”.

Controversy

Those in favor of installing vertical farms in cities argue that, by reducing the energy costs needed to transport food to consumers, vertical farms could significantly alleviate climate change produced by excess atmospheric carbon emissions.

On the other hand, critics of the concept argue that the costs of the additional energy needed for artificial lighting, heating and other operations of the vertical farm would outweigh the benefit of the building’s proximity to consumption areas.