Urban Fellows Programme | IIHS Bangalore

Breathing High rises - Breathing Urban Buildings

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:

p.8         Fig. 1.0    “Agriculture’s evolution”

                                Gordon James Graff for Sky farming

p.18       Fig. 2.0    'Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter'

                                Jung Min Nam

p.22       Fig. 3.0    “The living tower” was one of the earliest vertical farm designs in Paris-France

                                SOA architects - SPA Atelier

p.23        Fig. 4.0    The Spiral Garden system.

                                Elise F and Sindy V

p.24        Fig. 5.0    “The Green farms- Queens land Australian concept”

                                Oliver Foster

p.24        Fig. 6.0    “The Pyramidal Vertical farm” Dubai

                                Eric Ellingsen

p.25        Fig. 7.0    “The Vertical Farm”

                                Chris Jacobs

p.25        Fig. 8.0    “The Framscapers”

                                Gordon Graff

p.26        Fig. 9.0     Concept indicating images

                                Author - Google.

p.27        Fig. 10.0   Crop possibilities

                                 The Living Skyscraper: by Blake Kurasek

p.28        Fig. 11.0   Methods of water treatment in vertical farms – illustration

                                The Living Skyscraper: Farming the Urban Skyline by Blake Kurasek

p.29        Fig. 12.0   Hydroponics

                                 Prof. Vassilev

p.29        Fig. 13.0   Aeroponics

                                 Prof. Vassilev

p.29        Fig. 14.0   Aeroponic system

                                 Prof. Vassilev

p.29        Fig. 15.0   Float Stem system

                                 Prof. Vassilev

Figure 1: "Agriculture’s Evolution”

1.0          ABSTRACT:

                                   Vertical farming is the urban farming of fruits, vegetables, and grains, inside a building in a city or urban centre, in which floors are designed to accommodate certain crops. These heights will acts as the future farms land and as architects we can shape these high-rises to sow the seeds for the future. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the feasibility and plausibility of the vertical farming concept in three specific and interrelated research domains. The first research question was to investigate whether enough energy can be generated onsite to meet the needs of the building. The second research question was to investigate the carbon footprint of produce grown vertically and compare that to produce grown conventionally (greenhouse and outdoors). The final research question was to investigate how relevant stakeholders perceive the concept of vertical farming and what they believe are current barriers and opportunities towards uptake of the technology. The purpose of this investigation was to determine ways to supply food to cities in an energy efficient and sustainable manner from both a quantitative and qualitative approach.

What is a vertical farm?

As the world’s population grows, so does the land required to produce the needed food. The concept of a vertical farm was developed to remedy this crisis. A vertical farm is farms stacked on top of one another, instead of branching out horizontally. Developed in 1999 by Professor Dickson Despommier, the farm uses conventional farming methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics to produce more yields faster.

CHAPTER: 1

1.1      INTRODUCTION

                                               It is predicted that the world population will reach 9 billion by 2050, of which 70% will live in urban centres. This change, alongside a changing climate, will strain Earth’s resources, specifically the ability to supply food. A valuable investigation would be to determine other ways to supply food to cities alongside current agricultural practices in a sustainable manner.

                                              One idea is the concept of vertical farming. Vertical farming can be defined as farming fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. in the middle of a city inside of a building where different floors have different purposes (one floor for a certain crop, another floor for a vegetable, etc.) using hydroponics^[1](water with nutrients). The concept of supplying food in cities is not a new one as the history of urban agriculture goes back to many ancient civilizations, including the Mayans, the city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today), etc. There are many developments taking place today that apply the concept of urban agriculture, and the concept of vertical farming is a large scale extension of urban agriculture.

                                               It is becoming increasingly understood that both our forms of settlement and methods of sustenance are functionally incompatible with a planet of limited natural resources. Modern cities exhibit decisively “linear” resource metabolisms where food, fresh water, energy, and other resource demands are imported from great distances, consumed, and then swiftly dispensed as sewage or rubbish that the natural world cannot easily process. Likewise, the high-yield farming methods that support our immense population are characterized by their insatiable^[2]  consumption of our limited reserves of freshwater, fossil-fuel energy, and soil.

                                               A glimpse of humanity’s predictable future indicates that the way cities and agriculture consume the Earth’s precious natural capital will only worsen with the passage of time. The projected addition of 2.25 billion people to the global population by 2050 and another 2 billion by the end of the century forces us to consider what our world will be like with nearly twice as many consumers. Considering humanity’s current population is already effectively degrading the ecological conditions we require to thrive, it appears the only way to avoid both a global ecological tragedy and widespread famine in the next century is to significantly transform the way cities and agriculture utilize natural resources.

                                This dissertation presents an argument for the implementation of an emerging building typology, the vertical farm, as potential solution to the conflict between ecological stability and humanity’s persistent and economic growth.

1.2      PROJECT BRIEF

                     This dissertation is comprised of 4 parts or chapters. The first part deals with the introduction to the vertical farming. Here am mainly dealing with the agriculture’s effect on human and ecological systems, and explores the philosophies central to rationalizing high-density indoor agriculture with the objectives of human sustainability. The second chapter comprises of book reviews and literature studies regarding the vertical farming concept and urban farming, focuses on exploring the technologies and design strategies of the vertical farming concept.

                     Chapter 3 includes the three relevant case studies regarding the vertical farms. It talks about the scope and emergence of high-density indoor farming with the blueprint of human civilization as it has evolved since the Neolithic Revolution.

The initial chapters include a summary of the precedents pivotal to the emergence of the vertical farming concept, a description of its associated technology, and an explanation of vertical farming’s advantages over contemporary farming systems.

                                        And finally the 4^th chapter is dealing with the analysis and conclusion parts. The dissertation concludes with an analysis of vertical farming’s potential impact on the form and function of urban areas. After using systems theory to explain the similarities and distinctions of ecosystems and cities, the vertical farm is identified as an emergent trend capable of significantly altering the city’s relationship to its external environment. By establishing a new ‘producer’ trophic level within the homogenously^[3]  consumptive metabolic structure of urban areas, vertical farms can encourage cities to express, and thereby become more sustainable with, the Earth’s ecology.

1.3      AIM

                                       To evaluate the scope of the vertical farming concept in the building levels of the future cities. And thereby to analyze how well this concept can integrated be into the urban to sow the seeds for the future and to resolve the long-standing paradox^[4] of humanity’s inclination towards exponential demographic^[5]  and economic growth while inhabiting a planet of limited resource material means.

1.4       OBJECTIVE

                                      Vertical farming is the urban farming of fruits, vegetables, and grains, inside a building in a city or urban centre, in which floors are designed to accommodate certain crops. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the feasibility and plausibility^[6] of the vertical farming concept in three specific and interrelated research domains.

·      The first research question was to investigate whether enough energy can be generated onsite to meet the needs of the building.

·      The second research question was to investigate the carbon footprint of produce grown vertically and compare that to produce grown conventionally (greenhouse and outdoors).

·      The final research question was to investigate how relevant stakeholders perceive the concept of vertical farming and what they believe are current barriers and opportunities towards uptake of the technology.

·      The purpose of this investigation was to determine ways to supply food to cities in an energy efficient and sustainable manner from both a quantitative and qualitative approach.

1.5       METHODOLOGY

·      Literature reviews to examine the current agricultural practices were exhausting our natural resources, and whether it was sensible to explore other farming options.

·      Knowing the history and overview of urban agriculture. The history of urban agriculture was provided because it offered a sense of the history and development of the concept, its applications in the past and today, and the advantages and disadvantages associated.

·      To quantify the energy flows in the building. Also to study how much energy can be generated on site and how much energy will be used on site. The energy generation source was from photovoltaics^[7], and the energy was used to pump the water, light the building (for indoor cultivation), and ventilate the building.

·      Conduct the carbon foot print^[8] analysis for horizontal conventional and vertical farming methods.

·      Conduct life cycle analysis of leafy veggies grown vertically.

·      An exploration of social perceptions of relevant stakeholders, and this includes architects, engineers, and the general public.

·      Conduct semi structured interviews to explore the concept.

·      Conduct the experiments and study to find out the crop growing condition at different levels of atmosphere.

·      Detailed case study on vertical framing and bio climatic sky scrapers to know the design process and approach.

·      Comparative studies of crop cultivation and yielding in a conventional method and vertical farming.

·      Finding out solutions for the correct implementation of techniques and materials for the same.

1.6      SCOPE

1. Reduction in vehicular transport is also foreseen; there will be less demand for delivery trucks, garbage trucks and other utilities.

2. Overall wellness because city wastes will be channeled directly into the farm building's recycling system, hence, less bacteria can find its way in the environment and the atmosphere.

3. Abandoned or unused properties will be used productively.

4. Water can be used more efficiently in a vertical farm.

5. The greywater^[9] from office etc can be used efficiently.

5. The layers of atmosphere can be used effectively in vertical build ups.

5. Less CO2 emissions and pollution by decreasing reliance on coal-burning power plants and transportation, and implementing renewable-sources of energy.

6. Crops will be protected from harsh weather conditions and disturbances like typhoons, hurricanes, floods, droughts, snow and the likes. Food production as well as food transport will not be affected.

7. Crops will be consumed immediately upon harvest since there is no need to transport them to far-off places. Spoilage will also be lessened.

8. The use of chemicals as pesticides will be eliminated; hence, even vector borne diseases can be prevented.

9. Less deforestation and land use, this means less erosion and less flooding.

1.7      LIMITATIONS

1. The initial phase will be cost intensive, and certain flaws integrated in the system that may appear during its initial run can still dampen efforts for its full maximization.

2. There will be fewer varieties of foods to choose from because not all plants and vegetables are suitable in a controlled and limited environment.

3. The public will find it hard to reconcile with the idea of using black water for food production.

4. “Blackwater,” or the wastewater and sludge from soils, from the vertical farms need an additional costly filtration system in order to be recycled and conservative of the water resources.

5. Displacement of agricultural societies, potential loss or displacement of traditional farming jobs.

Footnotes: ( Chapter 1)

1.     Hydroponics - is a subset of hydro culture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.

2.     Insatiable - (of an appetite or desire) impossible to satisfy. "an insatiable hunger for success"

3.     Homogeneous - of the same kind; alike. "if all jobs and workers were homogeneous"

4.     Paradox - is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true. Most logical paradoxes are known to be invalid arguments but are still valuable in promoting critical thinking.

5.     Demographics - are the quantifiable statistics of a given population.

6.     Plausibility - Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible: a plausible excuse or giving a deceptive impression of truth or reliability.

7.     Photovoltaics (PV) - is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect.

8.     Carbon footprint - has historically been defined by Championne as "the total sets of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person."

9.     Greywater - is generally accepted as being wastewater generated from wash hand basins, showers and baths, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as WC flushing, landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands.

CHAPTER 2

2.1 BOOK REVIEWS

              a. The Vertical Farm:

     Feeding the World in the 21st Century -Dickson Despommier

                         Dr. Dickson Despommier is considered one of the world's foremost experts on vertical farms - a theoretical concept that may offer a solution to our food production problems in the future. Supporters and critic of this concept were highly concerned with how vertical farming could be misused, poorly executed and could rack up extreme costs. Dr. Despommier in his book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century spokes all about his critics concerns.

In this book he is mainly focusing on the many benefits of vertical farming and explains that it is the only way for us to sustainably and efficiently provide food for the world in the future. Although there are no existing vertical farms, Despommier says that we have all the technology we need to create them, we are just lacking in funding. He here lists the many benefits of the concepts of vertical farming and why it will be needed in the coming years and thereby he gives the same spark of his concept to the minds of architects, engineers and scientists.

He in this book mainly explains the many advantages of vertical farming. As Despommier rallies, vertical farms could enable every country in the world, regardless of climate or agricultural land, to be able to grow food in an efficient and sustainable manner. They could also save energy, reduce toxins, save water, provide new employment opportunities, restore ecosystems, and much more.

Granted, very few vertical farms have actually been built — there are a few small trial projects that utilize hydroponic growing techniques. Vertical farming is still largely theoretical, however Despommier makes the case that all the technology needed is available and at hand – it’s just there’s no funding for it yet. As Despommier says, “Every new idea will cost a lot to create, witness the cell phone and plasma screen TV, but as more of them become constructed and their cost will go down.”

Despommier’s stroke of genius, The Vertical Farm, has excited scientists, architects, and politicians around the globe. These farms, grown inside skyscrapers, would provide solutions to many of the serious problems we currently face, including: allowing year-round crop production; providing food to areas currently lacking arable land; immunity to weather-related crop failure; re-use of water collected by de-humidification of the indoor environment; new employment opportunities; no use of pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides; drastically reduced dependence on fossil fuels; no crop loss due to shipping or storage; no agricultural runoff^[1]; and, many more. Vertical farming can be located on abandoned city properties, creating new urban revenue streams. They will employ lots of skilled and unskilled labor. They can be run on wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal energy etc.

Despommier tells the story of how farming has changed over time; how food production has been influenced by human need, greed and thoughtlessness, how this has impacted the environment, the individual, society and even business and government. He places farming into context of the bigger picture while addressing the diverse factors of influence upon it, such as biology, ecological sciences, architecture, engineering and materials science, sociology, history, and politics, to more effectively illustrate the magnitude of the problems facing us now and the challenges that could lie ahead.

This is, perhaps, one of the particular strengths of the book, and one reason for its broad appeal to such a diverse audience. The author does not offer dire threats or short term solutions, but he does let the reader look at where we’ve been, shows us how we got there, and then tells us to look up.

Think beyond rooftop gardens. Vertical farms are entire buildings filled with plants and fruits and vegetables which will provide local food sources 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for entire cities and beyond. There will be no need of concern about unpredictable weather; no need for pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides; no shortage of water because it will be collected and reused from the indoor environment. Because of the production being local, there will be employment of local residents; development of local specialties and opportunity for small local business growth. There will be a drastic reduction of our dependence upon fossil fuels; less crop loss due to shipping and storage. This is not science fiction. Architects are already designing prototypes. Scientists are discussing the possibilities.

Another strong point made for the author’s argument is his use of illustrations to not only show the bad news; where land and water sources are being depleted, where agricultural practice is eroding resources, but also, the good; actual architectural renderings of vertical farms with detailed explanation.

“In its most complete configuration, the vertical farm will consist of a complex of buildings constructed in close proximity to one another.

They will include a building for growing food; offices for management; a separate control center for monitoring the overall running of the facility; a nursery for selecting and germinating seeds; a quality control laboratory to monitor food safety, document the nutritional status of each crop, and monitor for plant diseases; a building for the vertical farm workforce; an eco-education/tourist center for the general public; a green market; and eventually a restaurant. Aquaculture and poultry will be housed in adjacent but separate buildings with no physical connection to the vertical-farm building to ensure safety for the plants.”

Example: 'Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter' by Jung Min Nam:

Figure 2:'Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter'

Despommier presents a well-researched argument: First, giving the history of farming- farming the land in a natural way and then moving into how for convenience, for profitability and a myriad^[2] of other reasons, food production has become the managed, regulated, commercial business it is today. And then, suggesting a viable solution which has been well-researched, which includes practices and technology already available.

No longer limited to backyard or rooftop gardens, no longer reliant upon the unreliability of the weather, or the instability of big business, the depleted resources of land and space, “Vertical farms can be built in abandoned buildings and on deserted lots, thus transforming our cities into urban landscapes. They can be built in countries with little or no arable land, turning nations that are currently unable to farm into top farm producers.”

While the author of “The Vertical Farm” describes a viable option for future practice and provides sound theoretical perspective regarding the reasons for doing so, he remains realistic about the possibilities of implementation ^[3].

Encouraged by reception of his message, Despommier is confident that this will happen, and in the near future. Not at all a ‘how to’ book for small scale change, the plan described will influence the future of more than just farming. Despommier invites the readers to realize a bigger future of sustainability, even better than we can imagine.

     b. Growing Better Cities:

     Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Development - Luc J. A. Mougeot

The United Nations predicts that over the next 25 years nearly all population growth will be in the cities of the developing world. At current rates, 60% of the world’s total population will live in cities by 2030. As the cities grow, so does the number of urban poor. Unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition are commonplace. In the big city, most of any cash income the poor might bring home goes to feeding themselves and staying alive; any food that does not have to be bought is a bonus. As a result, more and more people are attempting to grow at least some of their own food to supplement poor diets and meager incomes. But farming in the city — urban agriculture — is too often seen by municipalities as a problem to be eradicated rather than as a part of the solution to making the city and its environment more sustainable.

In fact, urban agriculture has a long history. Throughout the developing world, municipal policymakers are waking to the fact that properly managed agriculture can make a major contribution to a city’s food security. It also has potential to provide employment, improve the environment, and make productive use of vacant spaces within the city. This book reviews the research experience of IDRC^[4] and its partners, including local governments, into the issues surrounding urban agriculture, with a particular emphasis on the influence that research has had on government policies. It describes the growth of city networks in Africa, Asia and Latin America that focus on accommodating urban agriculture and improving the lot of urban food producers. And it offers specific recommendations aimed at helping policymakers at all levels of government to maximize the potential of urban agriculture. The book concludes with a vision of how such policies might transform cities in the near future.

In its ideal scenario for the city of the future, IDRC’s CFP program listed a number of key principles:

Ø  Integration into urban management — supporting and valuing UA as an integral part of urban development and an effective tool for urban management;

Ø  Self-reliant local food systems — actively supporting UA through policies and research to develop a more robust urban food supply;

Ø  Productive green spaces — helping to purify the air and bridge the inequality of access to such spaces between rich and poor;

Ø  Resource recovery — recognizing the efficient treatment and reuse of solid and liquid wastes as a valuable resource for UA;

Ø  Producer access — organizing formerly marginalized producers into groups that can more effectively negotiate access, utilize research findings, and market their produce at a fair profit.

2.2       LITERATURE STUDY

A.   Quick facts about vertical farming :

Figure 3: "The living Tower"

·       Dickson Despommier coined “vertical farming” in 1999

·       Despommier is a microbiologist, ecologist, and professor

·       Vertical farming is not new to the world, but fairly modern to urban environments.

·       Vertical farms build on the idea of rooftop farming by capitalizing on space vertically and utilizing natural light to produce energy.

·       Vertical farms create urban communities in which individuals can both live and work in a sustainable environment.

·       The vertical farm acts as a mini eco-system^[5].

·       With the population increasing and the supplies decreasing, it is necessary that we think of innovative and creative ways to feed and nourish everyone.

A.1 Why is it innovative?

    Figure 4: "The spiral Garden System"

·   Vertical farms build on the idea of rooftop farming by capitalizing on space vertically and utilizing natural light to produce energy.

·   Vertical farms create urban communities in which individuals can both live and work in a sustainable environment.

·   The vertical farm acts as a mini eco-system.

·   With the population increasing and the supplies decreasing, it is necessary that we think of innovative^[6] and creative ways to feed and nourish everyone.

A.2 How is it sustainable?

     

Figure 5: Queensland, Australia Concept               Figure 6: Pyramidal farm to capture more light

     

·       Saved space per 1 acre of vertical farm = 4 to 30 acres of flat land depending on crop.

·       Creation of sustainable spaces in urban environments.

·       Decrease in “food miles” our produce travels, because we can grow a larger variety of produce year-round in a controlled environment we will no longer have to import seasonal fruits and vegetables.

·       All VF^[7] food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers

·       Able to control and recycle any waste created

·       The eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming

·       VF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants and animals

·       VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.)

A.3 Challenges on Vertical farming:

·       Building urban vertical farms will initially need large amounts of resources for building and construction

·       According to VF critic George Monbiot^[8] “Unless a new method of solar-powered lighting is developed, light to grow crops will be very expensive- resulting in a non-sustainable business model”

·       And the biggest problem, according to Monbiot, is LIGHT “The light required to grow the 500 grams of wheat that 1 loaf of bread contains would cost, at current prices, $15.81. That's just lighting: no inputs, interest, rates, rents or labor. Somehow this minor consideration – that plants need light to grow and that they aren't going to get it except on the top story – has been overlooked by the scheme's supporters.”

A.4 How is it designed?

              

Figure 7 : "The vertical Farm”                                  Figure 8 : "The Farm scrapers”

              

·     Multi-storied buildings growing different crops at each floor.

·     Integrated assembly line including: seed sorting facilities, distribution.

·     Continuous planting system including monitoring growth and harvesting

·     All creating a 'miniature eco-system' that acts to enable the urban population to manufacture and produce food locally.

·     The architecture itself:

§  Requires innovative design concept & architectural knowledge.

§  Integrating greenery alongside traditional architectural forms.

A.5 Impact of Vertical farming:

 

·       Reduction of energy costs in transportation.

·       Year-round crop^[9] production preparation protection from weather.

·       Crops are then sold within the same infrastructure (reduction of crop waste).

·       Elimination of crop machinery fossil fuel emissions.

·       Growth of enough food to replace lost productivity as farmland is urbanized.

·       5 acres of land in traditional farming would produce the same amount of crops to that of a 30 story building (2,400 acres of land).

A.6 Vertical farming future impact

·     When the global population increases by 3 billion people, 80% of them will live in or near urban areas

·     Our Current land-intensive practices will not be able to support the world’s demanding population

·     Cities currently investing in VF projects: NYC, L.A, LAS VEGAS, ABU DABHI, PARIS, SEATTLE,BANGALORE, TORONTO, PORTLAND, INCHEON,SURREY

A.7 Why vertical farming?

·       2050- 80% of world population will be around Urban Centers + 3 Billion^[10] more People.

·       70% of all Fresh water is used in irrigation for traditional agriculture.

·       Unsustainable factory farming techniques.

·       Approximately 800 million hectares of land being used for farming = area of Brazil.

A.8 Reclamation of landscapes

               Figure 9 : Concept  Indicative  images

 

·     Example of Yanomani^[11] tribe in the Brazilian Jungle.

·     Shifting agricultural methods

·     Cut down trees to farm, burn to enrich soil.

·     Grow crops on one plot of land, allow another to regrow.

·     Replace acres of farmland (Monoculture) with natural overgrowth.

·     Allow natural ecosystems to rebuild themselves.

A.9 Goals:

·     Supply sustainable food sources for urban centers.

·     Allow agro Land to revert to natural landscape.

·     Sustainable organic farming techniques.

·     Black/grey water remediation.

·     Appropriate unused and abandoned urban spaces.

·     End food contamination.

·     Year round food production.

·     End reliance on pesticides, herbicides and petro based fertilizers.

·     Create sustainable urban space.

A.10 Crop possibilities:

                    Figure 10 : Crop possibilities – In Living skyscraper

·     Sugar- typically grown in tropical location, extreme demand in the US. Need constant moisture monitoring. Sugar Cane, Sugar Beets

·     Corn- 80.9 million acres planted in the US. Yield of 11.8 billion acres, $23 Billion

·     Rice- 2.5 billion people rely as a food staple. Hydroponics, Nitrogen absorption

·     Pharmaceuticals- Use plants as sources for drugs.

·     Aquaculture - Tilapia fish ( Asia , U.S and Europe )

·     Farm culture - Pig and Chicken ( Europe and Asia )

A.11 Systems used in Vertical farming:

                   Figure 11 : Water treatment option in vertical farms – Living Sky scraper

·       Hydroponics-Cultivation of plant life through continuous flow of oxygenated, nutrient rich water.

·       Nutrient-flow technique.

·       Network of narrow channels of recycled nutrient rich water.

·       Float Stem- rectangular reservoirs filled with water.

·       Aquaponics ^[12] - combine hydroponics and aquaculture. One system, fish waste as nutrient for plants.

·       Drip/container culture- Soil less indoor growing- media bags

·       Aeroponics^[13] - exposes roots, nutrient rich mist pumped into air chamber 100% humidity

  

               Figure 12 : Hydroponics                                  Figure 13 :Aeroponics

   

               Figure 14 : Aeroponic system                                            Figure 15 : Float stem Technique

   

B.   Large Scale Urban Agriculture: Supplying food for the city

                            This explores the possibility of large scale agriculture in an urban setting, and options to increase the world’s supply of agricultural capacity, reduce food related transportation, assist in waste and water filtration loads of cities, and other possibilities. It discusses technical, economic and social ramifications^[14] of urban agriculture.

B.1. Introduction:

Food is such a basic asset and requirement to our society, that it is often overlooked. Our ways of producing the majority of our food has in many ways changed little over time, while virtually everything else, the way we live, work and interact, has changed dramatically.

We have a choice in how we produce food, and while the world is changing, it is important to investigate alternatives to our traditional way of food production. One reason for doing so is that the traditional way of producing food has turned into a specialization of crop areas, monocrop^[15] cultures that result in poor ecological diversity. Second, major transport operations are necessary to distribute the crops across continents.

Thirdly, current agricultural methods can use more than 80 times the amount of fossil fuels in energy than what it produces in food calories. Most importantly, our agricultural land capital is decreasing, and the world’s population and living standards ever increasing, with a large part already having difficulty securing food. While to some extent world hunger is due to unequal distribution and politics, the pressure on marginal areas is measurably going up.

C. The scales and possibilities of urban agriculture:

                                   Urban farming can be in a variety of scales, starting with a few consumable plants in the window sill to large scale vertical farming industries. It is useful to divide these different types in three scales, since they require different approaches to effectuate.

Small scale urban farming is not uncommon in large parts of the world. Typical of the small scale is that the food is produced by the same people that consume it. In many communities people enjoy growing certain herbs or spices in their own domain to guarantee freshness or a flavor they cannot obtain otherwise.

Sometimes a hobby in food gardening can extend itself to the cultivation of an allotment garden, not uncommon in the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. These provide important community functions as well as educational and leisure services to a wide range of age groups.

However, their food production is limited and inefficient due to a high degree of fragmentation and it cannot be expected for small roof gardens to be a major contribution to actual agricultural land. Its benefits should mainly be sought in its sociological and ecological benefits, such as water collection, waste recycling and educational purposes.

C.1 Medium scale urban farming:

This is usually an enterprise organized by a single entity in which members of the community it feeds are employed, either paid or voluntarily, to provide food for this community. They often focus on a certain environmental approach to food production that normal channels do not provide or only at a high premium such as organic and specialty crops.

Usually the grounds are in the vicinity of the organization benefiting from them. A good example of medium scale urban farming is university food gardens, providing some or all of the food for a number of residential colleges or dining halls. The gardens are usually run and maintained by the university, with students from the community assisting where members of the community work to grow the food.

Medium scale urban farming is a good way to use smaller fragmented areas of urban fabric for food production as well as providing a visually, culturally and socially stimulating space, while aiding biodiversity, urban heat island effects and providing for functionally active open spaces.

It is interesting to note that traditional Chinese gardens, admired around the world for their quality and sophistication, were food gardens for the most part. Also Cuba has employed medium scale urban farming to overcome the hardships it faced after the soviet block fell and the economic boycott of the United States put the economy under pressure and increased the prices of oil significantly.

Cuba reverted to the use of oxen and manpower for its agricultural needs in favor of tractors and machinery, and converted open areas in and around cities to small farming enterprises, an advantage in relation to the rest of the world, because of its increasing independence from oil. With the rising oil prices, Cuba will be hardly affected and has meanwhile ensured a more sustainable method of operating.

Still, medium scale urban farming is difficult to extend to something larger than a local community, and while it usually makes use of land that would otherwise not be used for food production, does not add to farm land capital as a whole in a structural sense. Therefore this article focuses on large scale urban farming, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

C.2 Large scale urban farming profile:

Urban farming on a large scale is a different animal than medium and small scale altogether. Relying on a large volume of production it is hard to imagine this being organized by anything other than a single professional entity that employs people on a full time basis to operate its facilities.

To achieve a large volume of production in urban areas, and observing the economic forces at play in such an environment, agriculture will need to be stacked to make use of the costly land as efficiently as possible. Depending on the price of land this could be just several stories or as many as those of the tallest skyscraper.

This alters the way agriculture is performed in many ways quite radically, and the interaction with such a farm in a city context is also an entirely different experience than traditional farming allows. Current research profiles a possible enterprise to feed up to 50.000 people based on a caloric intake of 2,200 people, a staple built up from the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion’s dietary requirements and 19 floors on a 250.000 square foot area, or 43 floors on a 90.000 square foot area. This would include the growing of Tilapia in tanks (the most nutritious fish), and breeding chickens for mainly egg production.,Of course the farms could be larger (which might be impractical in an urban setting), and there is no reason to assume a somewhat smaller farm won’t operate less efficiently, given a certain minimum size, which seems to be at around 100-150 m2, in our experience, more or less dictated by local economic conditions.

Urban farming requires a different approach to traditional farming, for instance, since one has less access to daylight, artificial light has to be provided. Also, since working with soil is impractical, various soil-less techniques can improve the growing conditions, and by regulating the environment high efficiencies can be reached.

D.   Advantages of vertical farming:

D.1. Reliable harvests:

Vertical Farm Systems growing cycles are consistent and reliable, allowing commercial growers to confidently commit to delivery schedules and supply contracts. In a well-managed Vertical Farm System there are no such things as 'seasonal crops' and there are no crop losses. Vertical Farm Systems are fully enclosed and climate controlled, completely removing external environment factors such as disease, pest or predator attacks. It also means our farms are not dependent on fertile arable land and can be established in any climatic region globally irrespective of seasonal daylight hours and extremes in temperature.

D.2. Minimum overheads:

Production overheads in Vertical Farm Systems installations are commercially competitive and predictable. In some cases profitability of over 30% has been demonstrated even after deducting full amortization of capital equipment over a 10 year period. Minimum overheads and grow costs are maintained through:

D.2.1.Low energy usage:

The use of high efficiency LED lighting technology ensures minimum power usage for maximum plant growth. Computer management of photosynthetic wavelengths in harmony with phase of crop growth further minimizes energy use while ensuring optimized crop yields.

Greatly reduced energy usage for climate control is the direct result of not requiring sunlight inside the growing area which enables the use of high thermal efficiency buildings rather than poly greenhouses, and the vertical design of our systems means that for the same growing area the total air volume of a Vertical Farm Systems building is around 88% less than the air volume of single level growing systems.

The potential for use of green energy and the elimination of fossil fuel powered tractors, irrigation pumps and other horticultural equipment, Vertical Farm Systems can be structured as carbon emissions competitive.

D.2.2 Low labour cost:

Vertical Farm Systems are fully automated growing systems with automatic SMS text messaging for any faults. Manual labour is only required on-site for planting, harvesting and packaging of crops - and the required skill levels are very low.

D.2.3 Low water usage:

Being a totally closed growing system with controlled transpiration losses, Vertical Farm Systems use only around 10% of the water required for traditional open field farming and around 20% less than conventional hydroponics. Water from transpiration is harvested and re-used and spent nutrient water is also processed for re-use.

D.2.4 Reduced washing and processing:

Vertical Farm Systems growing environments are fitted with strong bio-security procedures to eliminate pest and disease attacks. Total elimination of the need for foliar sprays, pesticides and herbicides in cropping systems results in produce that does not require holding times or expensive and product damaging washing or post-harvest processing.

D.2.5 Reduced transport costs:

Vertical Farm Systems can be established in any geographic location with suitable power and water supplies. Strategic positioning of facilities close to the point of sale or in distribution hubs dramatically decreases the time from harvest to consumer and also reduces costs for refrigerated storage and transport.

D.3. Increased growing area and space saving:

For the same floor area, Vertical Farm Systems multi-level design provides nearly 8 times more growing area than single level hydroponic or greenhouse systems. This compact design enables cost-effective farming installations in industrial estates, urban warehouses and other low cost and typically under-utilized environments not previously associated with high-quality high-margin agricultural activities. It is estimated that every acre used for vertical farming is equivalent to 4 acres of horizontal farming.

D.4. Maximum crop yield:

Irrespective of external conditions, Vertical Farm Systems can reliably provide more crop rotations per year than open field agriculture and other farming practices. Crop cycles are also faster due to the systems’ controlled temperature, humidity, daylight hour’s optimization and the use of biologically active organic plant nutrients. The systems can produce market grade produce of several crops within just 21 days.

D.5. Wide range of crops:

Vertical Farm Systems has a wide range of crops that are able to be grown in their systems. The crop growth is controlled by a comprehensive computer database that manages and maintains the optimum growing conditions for each specific crop variety being grown

D.6. Fully integrated technology:

Profitability in commercial horticulture requires the ability to cost-effectively and consistently provide plants with optimum growing conditions from germination through to harvest. Vertical Farm Systems monitors and controls the levels of air, water and nutrition to provide optimum growing requirements with a fully integrated computer management system.

D.6.1 Optimum air quality:

Temperature and humidity levels are closely monitored and maintained in an optimum range for each crop being grown. In warehouse installations the addition of CO² is an optional addition that further increases crop growth and yield rates.

D.6.2 Optimum water quality:

All fresh water into Vertical Farm System installations has particulate, fluoride and heavy metal contaminants removed and are sterilized before entering the system.

D.6.3 Optimum light quality:

High-intensity low-energy LED lighting has been specifically developed and is used for maximum growth rates, high reliability and cost-effective operation. The duration and intensity of the specific parts of the light spectrum that plants use during different stages of their growth is carefully programmed into the computer management system. This ground-breaking technology has dramatic effects on plant growth rates and yields.

Footnotes: ( Chapter 2)

1.     Run-off - may refer to: Surface runoff, the flow of water, from rain, snow melt, or other sources, over land.

2.     Myriad - (Ancient Greek) is a classical Greek word for the number read as "ten thousand" in English. Similar to the use of 萬 or 万 in East Asian languages, it can also be used generically to denote any "numberless", "countless", or "infinite" large quantity.

3.     Implementation - is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.

4.     IDRC - International Development Research Centre.

5.     Ecosystem - is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.

6.     Innovation - is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, in articulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments and society.

7.     VF – Vertical Farming.

8.     George Joshua Richard Monbiot - (born 27 January 1963) is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain (2000) and Bring on the Apocalypse: Six Arguments for Global Justice (2008). He is the founder of The Land is ours, a peaceful campaign for the right of access to the countryside and its resources in the United Kingdom.

9.     Year round Crop – Throughout a full year harvesting.

10.  Billion - In numbers: Long and short scales, 1,000,000,000, one thousand million, 109, in the short scale 1,000,000,000,000, one million million, 1012, in the long scale.

11.  Yanomami tribe - The Yanomami, also spelled Yąnomamö or Yanomama, are a group of approximately 35,000 indigenous people who live in some 200–250 villages in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil.

12.  Aquaponics - is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture, (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks), with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrogen-fixing bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculates back to the aquaculture system.

13.   Aeroponics - is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium (known as geoponics). The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of aero- (air) and ponos (labour). Aeroponic culture differs from conventional hydroponics, aquaponics, and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which uses a liquid nutrient solution as growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth; or aquaponics which uses water and fish waste, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. Because water is used in aeroponics to transmit nutrients, it is sometimes considered a type of hydroponics.

14.  Ramification - is the divergence of the stem and limbs of a plant into smaller ones, i.e. trunk into branches, branches into increasingly smaller branches, etc. Gardeners stimulate the process of ramification through pruning, thereby making trees, shrubs and other plants bushier and denser.

15.  Monocrop - Monocropping is the high-yield agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence rotation through other crops. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often grown using monocropping techniques

CHAPTER 3 - CASE STUDIES

3.1   “The Living Tower” by: SOA Architects^[1].

 

“Living Tower” by SOA Architects, the vertical farm is located in Rennes, France. This tower is very modern in style and portrays a wrapping of sorts around the exterior façade. This artistic wrap is very functional as well due to the combination on of program consisting of not only farming but housing and business.

The idea from the start was to see if it would be possible to integrate the key farming aspect into a mixed program. From the outside the clear glass accommodates the farming aspect, while the darker band consists of small windows for the apartments and meeting rooms. In this fashion, each floor plate is a mix of two types of programs with one always being the farming.

Fig 15: site plan

Fig16: Ground floor plans (Market area)                    Fig17 : upper floor plans (apartments and offices with integrated framing)

In section it can be seen that the farming is actually sloped just as it is perceived from the façade. This is most likely for purposes of sun orientation so that the crops can receive the most.

Fig18: Section - Showing vertical circulation core and plant locations sloping throughout.

Also, the center contains the core of the building with all circulation as well as harvesting and containment of the crops.

Fig 19 : construction details and façade

                                        fig21: Housing / planting wrap

fig20: Structure                                                                                                               fig22: Energy production

               fig23 : Interior – showing crops

               fig24 : Interior – Business meeting rooms

3.2   “The Eco-Laboratory” by: Weber Thompson

The Eco-laboratory by Weber Thompson^[2] is a combination of a laboratory, housing, and of course, farming. A strong emphasis is put into making the building sustainable. First through building ventilation a variation of temperatures can be customized for different crop species through mechanical louvers.  The system starts outside capturing fresh air from a patch, another name for a garden, and forces that air into the building. The cool air is pumped up from the bottom exhausting the hot hair out of the top. Vents can be closed to keep the temperature warm for tomatoes for instance that prefer the hotter climates.

fig25: building ventilation

In terms of energy, the laboratory tries to capture as much energy as possible from all elements. Wind turbines are located on the rooftop. Solar panels to capture the sun’s rays are not only located on the roof but on the southern façade too. This building also takes methane from the plants waste.

fig26: energy cycle

·        The water cycle is another interesting aspect.

·        The shape of the roof was designed in a shape to best capture rainwater.

·        The rainwater is then used for all of the housing throughout the building.

·        Once used both grey water and black water are recycled through a waste water treatment greenhouse.

·        After treatment all of the water is considered grey water and now continues onto the hydroponic systems for the plants.

               fig27: water cycle

    

fig28: NE view                                                                                                                   fig29: section

3.3    Harvest tower Green Project Vancouver, BC

In March 2009 the city of Vancouver ran an idea’s competition which asked the contestants to address the problems of sustainability and urban density. Vancouver based Romses Architects won the Secondary category for their housing proposal and received honorary mention for the Harvest tower in the primary category. Both proposals were focused on sustainability and vertical farming. The Harvest tower was a proposed mix use tower that devoted a majority of space to vertical farms. The Housing proposal is a scheme to turn a portion of people’s backyard into a laneway.

The prominent piece of the Harvest Green Project is the proposed tower that will house the actual vertical gardens. Besides vertical farming, the tower also makes room for an aquaponic fish farm as well as a livestock grazing plain for chickens and cows. These additions expand the notion of the vertical farm to the idea of a vertical food production plant for the surrounding neighborhood. The tower also boasts its use of green energy to power its functions. Wind turbines and solar panels collect renewable energy, while the decomposing of organic material creates methane which is then turned into energy via a turbine.

The Program

Vertical Farming is not all that the Harvest Green Project houses. Included in the program of the tower is a transit line and station, Live/Work lofts, an organic food store, super market, as well as a ‘Harvest Green’ restaurant that utilizes produce grown in the tower. This diverse program really sets the Harvest Green Project apart from other Vertical Farming towers in that it is not only productive (i.e. producing food) but also performative in that it utilizes the locally grown food on site (i.e. the store/super market and restaurant).

Residential Laneways:

The second part of this proposed project deals with the residential condition of low density housing and its unsustainable nature. This secondary proposal serves as an appendage to the main Harvest Green Tower. The idea initiating these residential laneways is that the large backyard space behind residential houses sits empty and unutilized. Reclaiming 10m at the end of the residential plot creates a new laneway that can be filled with sustainable and productive buildings of varying sizes. These buildings could be small residences, community gathering places, or even small recycling collection centers. Either way they would serve to reconnect the residential neighborhood.

Footnotes: ( Chapter 3)

1.     SOA Architects - SOA Architects practices diversity while basing itself on the personal interest and strengths of its associates: architecture, design, ethnology, town planning and conceptual art. This collective working method marks each production with strong theoretical, aesthetic and sociological aspects, founded on the analysis of the multiple constituents of geographical and social territories.

2.     Weber Thompson - was founded in 1988 as an architectural firm focused primarily on urban infill, mixed-use projects. The firm has since evolved into a highly-diversified design agency with capabilities in four complementary design disciplines: Architecture, Interior Design, Community Design and Landscape Architecture. With special attention to our client's vision, the environment, and careful collaboration between client and design/construction teams, our primary objective is to design exceptional, sustainable projects that help our clients find success.

CHAPTER 4

4.1 ANALYSIS

4.1.1 Analysis of the research’s question, regarding the case studies with focus on the impacts of environment, society, and cost:

Case study 1: “The Living Tower” by: SOA Architects.

Ø  Healthier products (no insects or need for pesticides)

Ø  Regulation of climate (more reliable production of products)

Ø  Use of renewable energies as power ( Wind and Sun )

Ø  no reliance on coal

Case study 2: “The Eco-Laboratory” by: Weber Thompson:

·   Energy: While conserving energy through infrastructure design and decreasing energy costs, the vertical farm will also implement renewable sources of energy, decreasing reliance on coal-burning industries.

·   Water: Collection and recycling of water will be done in a sustainable and mindful practice.

·   Aesthetics: As a societal impact,Weber Thompson supports the infrastructure design as jointly visually pleasing and functional in energy conservation.

The possibilities of Vertical Farms with respect to waste management practices, the ecology of a city, and other societal impacts (a summary of ideas of research)

Advantages	Disadvantages
Water can be used more efficiently in a vertical farm	“Black water” or the wastewater and sludge from soils, from the vertical farms need an additional costly filtration system in order to be recycled and conservative of the water resources.
Less CO2 emissions and pollution by decreasing reliance on coal-burning industries and transportation, and implementing renewable sources of energy.	Initial costs of designs and renewable energy is often unattractive to developers.
Less deforestation and land use, which means less erosion and less flooding ( Natural ecosystem )	N/a
Healthier products  and “urban” farming jobs	Displacement of agricultural societies, potential loss or displacement of traditional farming jobs.

  Natural hazards and impacts on ecosystem:

         

Contribution of Ecosystems to Historical Radiative Forcing and

Current Greenhouse Gas Emissions:

Unsustainable Water Withdrawals for Irrigation:

Changes in Agricultural Land (Pasture and Cropland) and Breakdown of Global land cover:

      

Global Production, Prices, and Undernourishment:

Proportion of Population with Improved Sanitation:

Proportion of Population with Improved Drinking Water:

Estimated Total Reactive Nitrogen Deposition from the Atmosphere (Wet and Dry) in Early 1990s, and Projected for 2050 :

  

                    

Locations Reported by Various Studies as Undergoing High Rates of Land Cover Change in the Past Few Decades:

Characteristics of the World’s Ecological Systems:

4.1.2 Current technology and state of development:

                            Current research is exploring two paths along which to develop methods of vertically stacked farming. One is Hydroponics, using artificial non-consumable substrates on which the plants are anchored through which water flows with added nutrients. Without the involvement of soil, the process becomes cleaner, and the plants grow more efficiently.

When a full day and night cycle is employed for growth using artificial light, an efficiency of up to five times compared to traditional agricultural practices might be achieved. Using Aeroponics, in which the roots of plants are suspended in dark boxes in which a vaporized nutrient solution is channeled; the growth efficiency can be even higher. Using the inedible parts of the grown plants as well as the compost influx energy can be generated using methane conversion to power the lights, assisted by Photovoltaic on the roof and built into the windows.

There are various other ways of energy generation technologies that can be applied, as well as several light transmission techniques such as light tubes and tunnels to channel light further into the building than direct sunlight allows. Currently the most promising technique for using the compost is by extracting the methane and then use cogeneration as a conversion technique. By burning the methane electricity is generated as well as heat. The heat is then used for various tasks within the building itself and can provide neighboring buildings with heating and hot water as well. Even though burning would occur, this would be a carbon neutral solution since the carbon was sequestered by the growing plants in the first place in order for it to end up in the methane.

Taking all this together and performing a rough but conservative energy balance analysis it has been concluded that it is very likely that a farm can be built that uses little to no energy from exterior sources .

Most if not all of these technologies are realities and are in effect in various configurations around the world. They have not yet been combined, and the challenge of building a vertical farm lies in connecting and operating these separate technologies as one efficient system.

4.1.3 Economic viability:

                              Under the direction of Dr. Dickson Despommier of Columbia University a financial analysis   was performed to investigate the viability of a vertical farming enterprise.

The report concludes as follows:

1. The urban hydroponics model of Vertical Farming is both presently realizable and profitable. The investment return is comparable to stock market averages.

2. Properly implemented renewable energy sources can significantly reduce utilities expenditures, justifying their initial capital cost.

3. Corporate and institutional investors are willing to finance Vertical Farming as a result of the operations significant secondary benefits.

4. Vertical Farming presents a unique investment opportunity as it aims to revolutionize our understanding of food production and urban development."

The report is positive about the financial viability of a vertical farming project, but understands and recognizes that a project with normal return on investment characteristics but with a high risk factor will not be easy, and that emphasis should be placed on the secondary benefits of vertical farms such as water filtration functions, reduction of food transportation costs, increase in food quality and laying the foundations for a sustainable urban development. Funding for the first, experimental, vertical farm should be sought in the area of Philanthropic organizations as well as Venture Capital firms, according to the report.

However, I believe that in countries with active participating governments such as in Scandinavia, Germany or the Benelux, it should be possible to create an experimental project to serve as a foundation for further investment on a larger level. With countries such as the Netherlands taking pride in environmental technological achievements (e.g. Delta Works), and having agricultural innovations in greenhouse technology as a major export product, it would suit their international agendas by being the first to develop the technology and expertise to build and run these operations. Once the experimental nature of vertical farms has been explored and the knowledge has been gathered to implement these effectively, they could be used to effect an even more substantial gain by providing developing countries with the ability to build and maintain these operations.

An example for this can be sought in existing algae plants. Highly profitable Spirulina^[1] Algae plants have been built in Africa to aid small towns in both generating nutrition and economical resources. The "Central Food Technology Institute has been active since 1960 (ref) in implementing algae growing plants in India quite successfully, and the African Green Future initiative in cooperation with IIMSAM (Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina against Malnutrition) uses algae plants built by hand out of mud and some bricks to treat large quantities of raw sewage and turn it into animal feed, fertilizers and biofuel.

It should be noted that algae plants are of a technological very different nature from vertical farms, and the latter usually requires a higher standard of maintenance, operation and investment. Also, Spirulina plants are highly profitable and require little investment. Their development profile is quite substantially different from a vertical farm. That said, their usefulness is limited, one can only do so much with algae. While it can be used for human consumption (it is also one of the few non-animal sources of vitamin B12), it really is not diverse enough to become a staple of nutrition for a nation.

Once success has been achieved with simpler methods such as algae farms, low-technology vertical farming techniques could be experimented with to aid in the increase of agricultural capital and crop diversity.

4.1.4  Social and Political consequences:

                                                Imagining a future where urban vertical farming becomes an important driver of the food production industry, the consequences on a social and political level would be difficult to predict, but they would be substantial.

Major shifts in food distribution networks would ensue and therefore changes in political trade balances between nations and regions. Urban farms would compete and most likely gain the upper hand in the production of the majority of food in urban regions, leaving agricultural land to be used for more specialized uses, or to be returned to a natural state. Of course the production of food crops on land will quite likely remain financially beneficial as its primary investments are low, but as oil and energy prices rise, the transportation of these crops will gain an increasing share in the cost of traditionally cultivated food.

On a sociological level people in dense urban environments would be partially reconnected with the cycle of resources that exists in the natural world. Waste would be locally treated and used to grow nutrients that are then consumed locally. The requirements of the vertical farms in terms of labor and maintenance would mingle a modern agrarian work force with that of more typical urban dwellers, which might prove for an interesting cultural interchange.

It might serve to re-establish a certain respect and understanding for natural processes in the educational system as farms and schools can be co-located and other functions are integrated as well. It would not be a large stretch of the imagination to envision the merger of public places and food production, after all if Chinese gardens did it in ways we admire now, why not apply it to a new urban development? For developing worlds the farms could be a center for development, and substituting some high technology solutions with labor intensive solutions provide for employment for a substantial number of people.

For developing areas it would mean a more reliable source of food, a more solid infrastructural foundation to build a society upon and a basis for a more solid economy. In addition it would likely reduce the amount of food related traffic within the city, although that is difficult to quantify. The quality of food could be regulated better and the water filtration properties of a vertical farm are paramount to healthy future development, this being a major issue in many developing areas. It could assist in providing employment for women in countries where women have lower (agricultural) social status and provide for a framework of reintegration of these classes and an emancipation of this status.

But not just for developing countries vertical farms could be a solution to multiple problems. Countries like Iceland, Chili and Japan, which have very little agricultural land available, could start reducing their dependence on imported goods, reducing their vulnerability to market fluctuations.

4.2. Conclusion:

The implications of vertical farming in an urban ecology

                                                  This dissertation will conclude by examining how vertical farming can encourage a more resilient, cyclical resource metabolism to emerge in the microcosm of human society, the city.

Large scale urban farming, in the shape of vertical farms, can thoroughly affect the way we provide for our daily necessities. Its potential is enormous, positively affecting transportation, food quality, the economy of cities, skyline and the sociological landscape of urban areas. However, it depends on its level of implementation how influential it can be.

Also as a long vision future is urban totally. And here the vertical farming concepts can really act as an emerging trend for resource (oil, land, water etc.) management. The impact of urban agriculture, vertical or not, could range from large to small. The range spans from a nice and functional addition to the agricultural services providing some places with a percentage of their food contribution in highly developed countries, to revolutionary development in food production that shifts the balance from rural to urban and empowers developing countries in economical, political and social ways as not seen before.

In the case of architecture it really helps the city to shape its skyline and sociological landscape of urban areas .As architects it is necessary to continue to push for experimentation and exploration of this realm. The challenge of architects for this vertical farm is to maximize sunlight penetration and provide facilities for the public and commercial sectors. The crops areas should place on top and envisaged to the south, to take advantage of the southern sun. Scaffold framed structures and meshes can be used to keep farm area light. The technologies are known, but they've hardly been used in such a way before. Also, the economical characteristics are not entirely known. Without test sites and further research into the implementation of vertical farms into the fabric of the city it will remain guess work.

What is certain is that vertical farms provide an enormous potential for changing the functional operations of cities the world over, and that whoever manages to harness them in an economically and ecologically sound way has a bright future ahead of them. International cooperation to achieve the first few plants would be a good start, and a number of experimental vertical farms the next step. No matter how it will be done, large scale urban farming is a viable opportunity in architecture that can play a very important role in the next century, if executed correctly.

To effectively explain vertical farming’s impact on urban resource metabolism it is important to address the underlying systematic behavior of cities in relation to that of their sustaining natural ecosystems. Like ecosystems, cities are classified a “complex adaptive systems”; complex in that they are diverse and composed of multiple interconnected agents, and adaptive in their capacity to evolve in response to stimulus. Both can be described as emergent phenomena wherein their overall form and behavior are determined not by the sum of their constituent parts, but rather the patterns that emerge from the interactions of their constituent parts. Both are also strongly influenced by their contextual forces: the hydrological and thermodynamic signature of a region for ecosystems and the regional economic, demographic, and environmental forces for cities. Urban systems will expand or contract, evolve or become stagnant over time, just like ecological communities.

                                                                             The evident behavioral distinctions between cities and ecosystems can be explained primarily by the differing levels of diversity among their respective constituent agents. It is widely understood that ecosystems exhibit a complex cyclical metabolism. This is enabled by the heterogeneous^[2] array of organisms that compose ecosystems, where the waste material discharged by one organism can become the nourishment for another. This metabolic structure is astonishingly self-reliant, requiring few inputs beyond sunlight and externalizing no material output waste.

       

fig: Resource metabolism of natural ecosystems

                                  On the other hand, modern cities have overwhelmingly linear metabolisms distinguished by their insatiable appetite for natural resource inputs and substantial production of waste outputs. This simplistic resource usage pattern is a product of the homogeneity of a city’s composition. In contrast to the internal diversity of ecosystems, cities are largely composed of entities fulfilling the role of heterotrophic consumption.

Urban citizens consume food, water, and other commodities, their buildings and appliances consume electricity, and their vehicles consume fuel – the latter two also involving the consumption of raw materials in their manufacture.

Without the complimentary metabolic functions of producers or decomposers urban agents must obtain these resources from sources found outside the community, while also creating wastes of little use to the community, forming the traditional input and output externalities of urban life.

fig: Resource metabolism of industrial society

Stated simply, vertical farming is the urban replacement of imported rural agriculture. It introduces the possibility for large-scale agriculture to exist within the confines of dense urban environments, enabling cities to achieve greater self-sufficiency in their nutritional demands. The impact of this transition on the resilience of urban economies is hard to overstate. For example, a network of vertical farms would protect cities from the temporary instances of volatility that can disturb the importation of vital commodities, such as extreme weather and social unrest. Increased commodity security is particularly important for food, since most food products have a limited shelf life and must travel thousands of miles to reach urban markets.

                     

fig: Resource metabolism of industrial society decoupling from environmental impact

                                                         Additionally, vertical farming would increase a city’s resilience to the more long-term, systemic alterations that human society is widely expected to experience in the coming decades. With vertical farming’s maximally efficient resource use and functional segregation from the natural world, cities could achieve food security amidst the environmental transformations and resource shortages that would cripple a conventional urban food network.

                                                         The elegance of the vertical farming concept is that it reduces the ecological impact of food production by harnessing the existing momentum of technological innovation, rather than requiring the resistance of humanity’s instinctual desire for improved material comfort and convenience. By disconnecting food production from the Earth’s fragile ecosystems and integrating it with the industrial ecology8 of urban centers vertical farming could help establish a new paradigm for urban resource metabolism characterized by improved resource productivity and the cyclical exchange of materials.

                                     With respect to its advantageous material input demands and output yields, vertical farms would fill two vacant roles in conventional urban ecologies: autotrophic production and detritivoric^[3] decomposition. In perfect contrast to the consumption of food products and production of sewage and organic wastes that urban life necessitates, a vertical farm would serve as a consumer of organic waste and a producer of the food cities require. In doing so vertical farming would allow the metabolic mutualism synonymous with cyclical resource flows to become a regular phenomenon in urban ecology.

The metabolic impacts of the discussed vertical farm typologies would be clearly visible at the neighborhood scale. Agro-Arcology’s^[4] most visible impact would be the establishment of a mutually beneficial resource interaction with its adjacent urban vicinity, as the building would collect the bio waste generated from its neighbors and off era stable supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in return.

Beyond this its metabolic impact would be largely commensal in nature, as its on-site production of electricity and purification of water and air would likely only benefit the building’s residents. However, to fully appreciate the building’s effect on urban resource metabolism one must look more broadly at the potential impact of the typology in general. The vertical farm arcology is a unique variant of a very prevalent, existing building type – the multi-unit residential building. If vertical farm arcologies were adopted by developers and urban planners as a more advantageous residential model they would allow multi-unit housing to evolve from its existing parasitic requirement for external resources to one defined by resource self-reliance. This mutation of multi-unit housing could enable the world’s cities to accommodate the massive population growth expected in the 21st century without significantly increasing its dependence on the external environment.

In contrast, large vertical farms like SkyFarm and the Ontario Vertical Food Terminal represent entirely new building types that could reconfigure the resource metabolism of entire regions of existing urban fabric. In addition to displacing existing external food importation with an urban alternative, large scale vertical farm could function as regional bio waste processing facilities. This metabolic role would enable urban ecologies to productively utilize bio waste, a provision that could ultimately reduce municipal waste impositions on the natural environment by over 34%. Moreover, as the soil fertilization and fortification benefits of the resultant anaerobic digestives are desirable commodities in rural areas, such vertical farms would allow urban ecologies to help replenish the natural lands they have consumed for millennia.

                                                                     Using the economic analysis as a benchmark, both SkyFarm and the Ontario Vertical Food Terminal would undoubtedly cost well over a billion dollars to construct. At this scale vertical farms could only be realized by developers with virtually endless capital and the capability of operating massive, logistically complex buildings.

My response to this is that one must realize that vertical farming can exist at a wide range of scales like conventional farming. Designs like SkyFarm and the OVFT should be understood as conceptual explorations of the concept at the extremities of its potential realization, much in the same way Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mile High Illinois^[5] served as a provocation for super tall skyscrapers. With the projected trends of rising food prices and the improving efficiency of grow lights in mind, it appears the vertical farming model advocated in this dissertation can expect its gross revenue per unit of production to rise while its major capital and operating costs will shrink. Therefore, vertical farming will likely be an accessible venture for community-scaled businesses in the future; a scenario that would enable vertical farming to infiltrate the food production system of liberal economies through the phenomena of bottom-up, emergence.

Moving forward, the question of how best to facilitate this shift to a more resilient, self-contained urban metabolism presents itself. After acknowledging the obvious necessity for the continued advancement of the technologies that improve resource productivity, one interesting development could see an expansion to the scope of urban planning to include the adaptive management of urban metabolism. If armed with a thorough understanding of the science of system’s theory and the mechanics of industrial ecology, urban planners could introduce informed by-law amendments and zoning changes to encourage metabolic attractors like vertical farms to gain a foothold where they are needed most. Through this practice we may ultimately learn that effective stewardship of the natural environment begins with the stewardship of our own industrial ecology.

                                         "Farming itself is blight on the natural landscape. It’s only 12,000 years old. We have been a species for over 200,000 years. Farming has eliminated our hardwood forests. Producing food in tall buildings will allow us for the first time to feed everyone on earth and still return land to its original ecological function." (Dr. Despommier)

Footnotes: ( Chapter 4)

1.     Spirulina algae - Spirulina is a cyanobacterium that can be consumed by humans and animals and is made primarily from two species of cyanobacteria: Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima.

2.    Heterogeneous - Homogeneity and Heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity in a substance. A material that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character; one that is heterogeneous is distinctly nonuniform in one of these qualities.

3.     Detritivores - also known as detritophages, detritus feeders, detritus eaters, or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as organic fecal matter).[1] By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles.

4.     Arcology - combining "architecture" and "ecology",is a set of architectural design principles for enormous habitats (hyper structures) of extremely high human population density. These largely hypothetical structures would contain a variety of residential, commercial, and agricultural facilities and minimize individual human environmental impact. They are often portrayed as self-contained or economically self-sufficient. The concept has been primarily popularized, and the term itself coined, by architect Paolo Soleri, and appears commonly in science fiction.

5.     The Mile High Illinois - Illinois Sky-City, or simply The Illinois was a proposed skyscraper that would have been 1 mile (1,600 m) high, described by Frank Lloyd Wright in his 1956 book, A Testament. The design, intended to be built in Chicago, would have included 528 stories, with a gross area of 18,460,000 square feet (1,715,000 m2). Wright stated that there would be parking for 15,000 cars and 150 helicopters. Had it been built, it would have been the tallest building in the world by far, being more than four times the height of the then tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building, and it would be nearly twice as tall as the world's current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa The design of the Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, is said to have been inspired by that of The Illinois.

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