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Sky’s the limit for vertical farms20 February 2009 Back in 1999, Dickson Despommier, a professor of environmental health sciences and microbiology at Columbia University in New York City, along with his graduate students, set about undertaking a rooftop gardening project. Ten years later, and the modest endeavour has transformed into one of the most ambitious, thought-provoking adventures in recent memory.
The enthusiastic students, clearly not interested in playing down the assignment, ended up collectively developing the concept of the ‘virtual farm’. Half-heartedly recognised by the mainstream press in 2007, this criminally under-publicised initiative could change the world of farming as we know it. In the not-too-distant future, we could bear witness to the farm being shifted from obscure rural areas (off the radar for even the most ardent satellite navigation systems) and transposed into a 30-floor skyscraper in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. Sound bonkers? Read on, and you might just change your mind.
The concept, despite sounding a tad-off-the wall, is in fact rather simple. You take a square city block in a hub of activity, such as Manhattan (approximately one square acre), and then erect a 30-storey cloud-buster. The exterior is decorated with glass walls from top to bottom, and the design is completed with the addition of a huge solar panel on the roof; the cherry on the cake, if you will. Aesthetically acceptable - but nothing more - each building would see each of its floors containing giant planting beds (effectively indoor fields), along with a sophisticated irrigation system that would enable the development of ‘traditional’ crops. Not only that, but there is also potential for small livestock to be grown in a controlled environment, even in this most urban of settings. For New Yorkers, who have become increasingly agitated by the plethora of Subway sandwich shops popping up by the bucket-load (not forgetting the ubitiquous Starbucks coffee chains), this proposition should sound most appealing. The news that each of these vertical farms can potentially provide organic food and fresh water for up to 50,000 avid diners should be greeted even more receptively.
Despommier, the mastermind behind the outlandish venture, was recently quizzed on the specifics by US-based broadcaster CNN. During his appearance, he commented: “The [idea] was very humble in its beginnings... and it has grown into something now quite out of my control. It has blossomed into a concept that suggests strongly that if we could grow our food inside tall buildings, we’d save a lot of space outdoors that we could replant trees in, for instance, and restore some of the eco systems we’ve damaged by farming. We could also supply healthier food supply for people living in urban centres. And we can addresss some problems that we can’t address right now, such as teenage obesity [and] type-two diabetes for instance in the United States - and in other places, just the availability of fresh water and good food.
“But let’s take one acre of land indoors. In New York City, a square city block is about equivalent to an acre of land. Let’s take a 10-foot floor building as an example. Let’s say we can grow wheat, and let’s say the average height of the wheat is about a foot-and-a-half. How many layers of wheat can you get inside of one room? The answer is about three or four. That’s three or four acres of wheat. Compared to one acre outside. Well that’s something, but we get continuous production inside also. We don’t have any seasons. We don’t have any crop related losses from weather events, and we don’t have any insect pests; so you can now see what the advantage of farming indoors versus farming outdoors would be. Giving land back equivalent to what you’re farming indoors will have a remarkable affect on the ecosystems as they recover.”
Many cynics remain unconvinced that the concept could ever materialise. According to sources, the detailed analytical work needed to establish the feasability of vertical farming has not yet been done. However, Despommier remains upbeat, and is convinced that the project is achieveable. Met with generally positive reviews from the man on the street, there are a huge wealth of different advantages. These include: continuous crop production; protection from weather-related crop failures; reduction of both farmland and in the use of fossil fuels; organic crops unaffected by exposure to bugs and wild parasites; water recycling; energy production; the halting of mass extinction; less animal-to-human transmission of infectious diseases; and finally, no shipping costs (and thus no pollution caused by moving produce around the country).
For more information, visit: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/vertical-diagonal-farm-in-new-york.php. This website contains several artists’ impressions of how the vertical farm may appear, along with additional details to whet your appetite even further. Contact Details and Archive...Most Viewed Articles... |
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