SkyFarm

SkyFarm (A FEEDING LANDSCAPE FOR THE VERtICAL CITIES) In the coming years 70% of the population will live in cities. Skyscrapers are a solution to densify cities in order to save urban soil and public budgets for city services, but in this scenario only a small percentage of the urban population will have access to a healthy eating. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Urban agriculture arises as a solution that provides with healthy food without compromising the environment. But how to achieve this when cities have to deal also with polluted air and water resources? how to get a sustainable life inside a 21 century skyscraper community? How can we do to transfer the knowledge of producing fresh natural food to the next generations?

Producing indoor organic hydroponic vegetables.

Skyfarm is one possible answer to achieve these goals by allowing people to grow healthy and organic food inside a vertical city, and also being a sustainable and useful infrastructure that will also be a public space. SkyFarm will use the latest technology on urban farming solutions, it will be a sustainable vertical hydroponic farming facility, not only economically and ecologically but also socially. We want to create a new kind of indoor public space, a topographic landscape, that seeks to achieve a sense of belonging on its users and that is able to build a local identity for the community. Skyfarm will not only provide people with healthy food and be the building public plaza but will also be an education facility that will show up the production process, to transfer the knowledge in order to raise awareness and replicate in other interior building spaces.

Design process:

Process diagram :

The creative concept of the project originates from design guidelines and program inputs, following a logical development, from analyzing the situation context to its possible materialities and assembly. Process, form and structure follow these premises, resulting on a design that reacts to its particular situation and program requirements. The main challenge was to combine the best plaza usability with a maximum possible farm facility area.

To achieve this, we propose a public indoor landscape, an ethereal topography that host inside it the farm facility. This topography is the result of the two main program requirements: first, the need of a restricted access and a hygrothermic controlled area, and second, an open and welcoming public space. As a result, the atrium floor rises in the areas where the farm needs room, and it descends in areas where a path connection is needed. This translucent topography will show up how vegetables are produced, and also will connect all the levels in a public path, generating social areas and meeting points.

Program requirements :

Guidelines: landscape

usability

To build an indoor topographic landscape, to enrich the building users experience.

To keep the atrium usability as a connector and a meeting place.

To connect all the atriums levels in a public path

simplicity

fluidity

productivity

A unique big fluid space, where all the social activities could be easily detectable and usable.

To provide for the indoor farm facility the maximum possible production area.

Due to its particular location, it should be a prefabricated easy mounting structure, plus lightweight and low maintenance.

connection

Construction process / Structure follows form: Designed as a lightweight installation, construction process starts from considering the proposed flux lines as structural lines and dividing the topography into three surfaces, between the flux lines and the resulting edge’s surfaces, a tubular steel structure system will solve the loads using a structural analysis software, varying the beams modules according to a further data analysis feedback process.

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topography surfaces definition.

Flux system axes.

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Surface´s edges definitions.

Edges subdivisions.

Structural axes definition.

Staff Area

Amphitheater

Farm facility

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Isometric section 01

Structural axes projection.

Tubular steel structure definition.

Plan level Farm - esc 1:100

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Materiality: Skyfarm will be made mainly from galvanized steel pipes and joints, galvanized steel hollow sections and polycarbonate sheets. Its components will be produced outside the building and mounted together on situ. There will be 5 types of polycarbonate sheets, from totally clear to opaque sheets, according to a previous defined pattern.

Polycarbonate covering:

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99% transparency 75% transparency 50% transparency 25% transparency Opaque

Assembly:

Structure :

Atrium

Atrium Plaza

Farm facility

Suply entrance

Isometric section 02

Metal joints assembly details:

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The galvanized steel pipe components for the main structure will be assembled together using customized metal joints. The topographical surfaces and stairs will be made from polycarbonate sheets.

The metal joints were first created by a parametric software and then casted from a mold made from a 3D printer. The polycarbonate surfaces were triangulated using also a parametric software and the resulting pieces will be then specifically made with a laser cutting and mounted together with galvanized steel frames and beams.

Plan level Plaza - esc 1:100

Customized metal joints:

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Technology / Hydroponic indoor farm:

Construction details :

Hydroponics is an agriculture technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water containing natural fertilizers) with or without the use of an artificial medium to provide mechanical support. Indoor hydroponics farms allow also to grow vegetables in a controlled environment without the use of agro toxics and air pollution.

Skyfarm project will be based on the ZipFarm technologies, adapted to the special needs that requires this location. This is a proved and technology based on vertical hydroponic racks systems, and a system of led lights and irrigation.

1. Polycarbonate Sheet 2. Galvanized steel frames

1. Galvanized steel joints 2. Galvanized steel pipes

1. Galvanized steel joints 2. Galvanized steel pipes

1. Polycarbonate Sheets 2. Galvanized steel frame

1. Galvanized steel railing

Advantages of hydroponics:

The Hydroponic indoor farms use less water and space than conventional farms, and grows food more efficiently, as much as 350 times more crops per square foot than a typical farm. The advantages of indoor vertical farms compared to traditional farms are:

No agrotoxics.

No air pollution.

90% reuse of water.

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Sensors for data collecting.

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Grow locally to sell locally.

Low carbon footprint.

Fast growth.

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Not depend on weather conditions.

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Production cycle:

Skyfarm it’s an indoor vertical hydroponic farming installation, that involves a sustainable production cycle from germination to wasting manage.

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Seeds preparation.

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Waste manage compost

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Germination.

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Final product selling.

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Planting.

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Transplant on to racks.

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Harvesting.

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Packaging.

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Irrigation. Nutrients feeding. ligting

Amphitheater

Atrium Plaza

Technical specifications: Growing modules:

Growing towers are made from rigid, food-safe PVC and are durable enough to hold up to even the toughest growing conditions for decades. Towers are manually placed by hanging from a tubular metal structure once seedlings are placed into them.

LED lighting:

Productivity:

LED tubes shed light at the exact wavelength each plant needs to thrive. This technology saves up to 80% of energy and has much more lifespan, compared to typical incandescent lights. (LEDs have an expected lifespan of 30,000–50,000 hours). Also it has a cold temperature operation and are breakage resistant and largely immune to vibrations and other impacts.

Near to 4.5 tons per harvest.

Skyfarm can hold up to 920 modules towers, and proven crop yields that can be up to 5kg of produce per module. Crops can turn as short as two weeks, depending on the growing vegetable. The maximum production capacity is, therefore, near to 4.5 tons per harvest.

Irrigating:

Automatic drip irrigation system with recirculating/recovery drip system. The recirculating drip systems consist on reusing/cycling the used nutrient solution after it has wet the roots back to the reservoir where it can be recirculated through the system, and used over and over again.

Vegetables to grow include:

Planting medium:

Instead of soil, the plants are grown on a growing medium made from recycled organic materials as coir: Fiber gathered from coconut husk.

Chard

Waste management - Vermicomposting:

Skyfarm will partialy produce its nutrient solution by producing its own compost using vermicompost technique, made of building’s organic waste.

Seeds storage.

Strawberries

Lettuce Staff room.

Spinach LED lighting modules.

Tubular Structure.

Growing modules.

Made from food safe PVC.

Irrigation system.

Ventilation system.

Tank with natural fertilizer

Irrigation system facility.

Laboratory. Nutrient preparation.

Point of sale.

GreenMarket.

Packaging station.

Water recovery system.

Irrigation system.

Lighting modules.

Growing modules.

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