Tag Archives: sustainability
Urban Farms.04
These designs are a few years old, and we haven’t heard of any actually being developed. Rumours that a 30-story vertical farm was being planned for Las Vegas four years ago, turned out to be just that – unfounded rumours fanned by the blogosphere and the belief that if it’s on the internet it must be true. Similar stories about New York, Toronto, Seattle, and any number of other cities around the world also seem to be just wishful thinking based on urban design competitions or university architectural assignments. Nonetheless, these ideas do have merit and we wish some big investor and/or developer would be enough of a visionary to undertake such a task.
Which one of these would you like to see in southeastern Queensland?
The Circular Tower Farm by Chris Jacobs
Designed in cooperation with Dickson Despommier, this all-inclusive residential eco-tower would produce more energy, food, and water (through condensation and purification) than its occupants would consume.
La Tour Vivante by Pierre Sartoux of Atelier SOA
Although this design won a competition for the city of Rennes in northwestern France, it has not been built. In addition to a fully-functioning farm, it would include commercial and residential spaces, as well as solar and wind power plants.
Symbiotic Interlock by Daekwon Park
This modular design is meant to work with existing urban structures and would include multiple garden units, social spaces (including cafes, libraries, museums, retail, etc.), wind turbines (to convert the wind generated between skyscrapers into energy), and sky bridges connecting various levels.
These three designs were featured in an article on Web Urbanist. A perfunctory search online will produce hundreds of building proposals for urban vertical farms. We can’t wait until they start becoming a reality.
Urban Farms.03
We’ve talked about urban farms before, but this design is an entirely new concept.
Jack O’Reilly, an English architecture student, created plans for a structure that would include a television station, learning centre, and restaurant, as well as an indoor farm.
O’Reilly’s Urban Farming and Media Interactive Networks (Urban F.@.m.i.n.), is a proposal for a vertical farm that promotes its sustainability efforts through on-site TV programming. The futuristic design features a series of narrow towers leading to pod-like structures where hydroponic vegetables and fruits will be cultivated. Although just a course assignment, the idea could revolutionise food production and education if implemented.
Here is a paraphrase of O’Reilly’s explanation for his project:
Vegetables and fruit are grown hydroponically using water from the canal, which mainly serves as a transport route. The crops produced reduce the city’s reliance on imports and generate an income to sustain the project. The produce is also used in the restaurant. To reach the widest possible audience an on-site TV studio produces programmes about food cultures and sustainability. An exhibition space allows people of all ages to learn about new food production technologies.
* First seen on Inhabitat.
Urban Farms.2
The urban farming movement has gained momentum in many cities around the world. As food prices continue to go up (and in many cases, quality continues to decline), more people are growing their own organic produce and even raising chickens and other assorted livestock.
Farmers Markets are a great place for people to buy fresh produce, but often it is priced beyond the budgets of the urban poor. Recently in Greece, farmers have taken their produce directly to the consumers – no booths or tables or space rentals, just truckloads of foodstuffs, which they sell at cost. However, urban farming can also help address the need for affordable food. There are various organisations in countless cities that help would-be urban farmers get started by providing funding and expertise, and there are many programs to help low-income families access the fresh produce.
While the upcoming U.R{BNE} Festival does not explicitly include urban farms in its list of projects, we wonder whether they would be open to proposals for community-based and run urban farms.
According to the U.R{BNE} Collective:
Our goal is to bring together all manner of creative professionals, students and community
members who have an interest in bettering our urban environment. By means of arts projects,
campaigns and debate we are committed to putting current themes from neighbourhood to the
city level on the public and political agenda and encouraging people to be personally involved
and engage in actions that will trigger change in our Cities.
Before the recent Queensland elections, the Bligh government promised the development of a new project in South Brisbane called South Bank 2, a five-kilometer commercial, residential, and recreational strip from the Story Bridge to Hockings Street. At the time, Campbell Newman ridiculed the idea. Now, as the newly elected premier, we hope he not only re-evaluates his party’s stance on the proposal, but also considers additional uses for this area. For example, why not include an urban farm?
We think community farms definitely contribute to the improvement of urban environments and we encourage the organisers of the festival to support such projects. We also encourage members of the public to organise, develop, and plan these types of grass-roots schemes. If you do have any ideas, please contact U.R{BNE} at urbnecollective@gmail.com for more information.
If you are aware of any organisations in Brisbane (or other Australian cities) that do support urban farming initiatives, please let us know so we can share that information with our wider audience.
Cool or Complicated?
Future designs – what does your dream (eco) kitchen look like?
1. Ekokook
French product design firm Faltazi has proposed a conceptual system where water is recycled and waste is broken down by worms inside the kitchen.
Named the Ekokook, it incorporates storage containers for packaging, a reservoir under the sink for collecting water to be reused, and a container where earthworms break down organic waste.
Since most household waste is produced in the kitchen, the aim of Ekokook is to process waste as close as possible to the point where it’s produced.
For a more thorough review, check out dezeen magazine.
2. The Microbial Home
Although the Microbial Home by Dutch firm Philips Design is more than just a kitchen, many of its functions revolve around or involve food (production, storage, recycling, waste, etc.).
The project includes various aspects like a bio digester island and larder in the kitchen, urban beehive, and bio-light (powered by bacteria living on organic waste material).
The larder is a dining table that doubles as a food storage system and evaporative cooler – a kind of natural refrigerator. The table’s centre comprises inset terracotta boxes, whose temperature is regulated by the water pipes from the methane bio-digester.
For more photos and explanation, check out Yanko Design.
3. Malthus
This design by Swiss company Conceptual Devices isn’t exactly a kitchen, either, but as an appliance it would form an important component of a sustainable eco-kitchen.
Malthus is an aquaponic unit designed to grow one meal a day: a portion of fish and a side salad. (Aquaponics is a farming technique that combines fish and vegetable cultivation.)
This appliance consists of a fish tank that holds 400 litres of water, supporting more than 2kg of fish. The fish provide rich fertilizer for the plants and in return, the plants clean the water from the tank. The water is pumped through three cultivated grow beds which filter the water for the fish. The fish and the plants co-exist in a symbiotic relationship.
Our Philosophy
Yes, there is a method to our madness – although we could argue that a passion for food and books is hardly madness.
One of our primary motivations in this endeavour was the desire to learn more about sustainable, eco-friendly, and healthy ways of food production, preparation, and consumption. We believe in composting, recycling, and organic farming. And as we learn more we want to share that with others. So we’re also interested in food education and nutrition.
In addition, we have an aesthetic appreciation for well-made objects, art that uses recycled materials, design that addresses sustainability, and other environmentally-friendly projects.
We won’t attempt to write a manifesto, here – just give a very brief idea of what we’re all about. In future posts we’d like to explore some of these topics more.
We’d love to hear from you about your food experiences.
Do you have a tip for growing your own vegetables?
Have you seen, heard, or read about a fantastic ‘green’ project?
Can you share a recipe for a decadent, yet healthy dessert?
