Green architecture: how agriculture is woven into cities

Urban farms right in the middle of big cities are no longer an innovation, but rather an alternative to the future. Now, engineers and designers, together with agronomists, are working on another question - how beautifully to introduce greenhouses and farms into the architecture of the city.

Food overcomes a tremendous way before being in each house on the table. Product logistics not only harm the environment, emitting huge amounts of CO2 every year, but also take away about 45% of the value of the goods themselves. In order to feed the city with a population of up to 7 million people, 2.5-3 million tons of food are needed daily.
The urbanization of farms was the solution to the problem of supplying food to major cities a few years ago when office buildings and apartment buildings began to be connected directly with agricultural production. For many world cities, a single concept of the city’s architecture is a key factor for the resolution of buildings. Since then, world experts in the field of architecture and agriculture have found a number of solutions on how to make the symbiosis of “agro” and “urban” aesthetic.

Business center as an ecosystem

The decision to equip a place in offices and business centers for greenhouses to grow plants came from the Netherlands - a country where every square centimeter of space is protected. The companies that introduced such a system were mostly agrarian, it saved a lot of space, logistics, and gave employees the opportunity to enjoy grown vegetables straight from the beds.
This ecosystem was arranged in the 10-storey office of one of the largest trading platforms for the Etsy handicraft trade. Courtyards for rest on the third filled with beds of planted plants. Along the perimeter of the corridors there are vertical flowerbeds with ornamental plants, which are fed by rainwater collected from roof tanks.

Back office with landscaping

Not only the largest companies can afford to green their walls. Freelance filmmaker Philip Vendrolini turned backyard space into a greenhouse back office. The greenhouse studio was assembled practically by himself, having purchased all the materials from the greenhouse manufacturer. The design allows you to control the level of heat throughout the year.
Now the office is a small room, decorated with wood with one covered panel for the regulation of solar streams, a small library, a sofa and a workplace, directly leading to the garden. Verdolini himself says that in such an atmosphere, developed projects become more successful.

From work - home to the greenhouse

In the northern countries of Europe, the trend of non-standard solutions for private homes began to appear in order to save on expensive utility resources and products. In Sweden, some residents have long been virtually no pay for heating. Back in 1976, eco-architect Bengt Warne created the first concept of a greenhouse. In fact, Naturhus is an ordinary dwelling, completely enclosed in a greenhouse, which creates its own ecosystem in the house and allows you to grow plants year-round that usually do not survive in a cold climate. The greenhouse protects the facade from precipitation, and solar panels accumulate energy for further heating and electrifying the house. Today in Sweden and other countries there are many such houses that allow people to change the approach not only to the architecture of housing, but also to life.

Future in mass

Large metropolitan areas have already begun to invest in such architectural projects, making this phenomenon a massive trend, even at the legislative level. The mayor of Paris has introduced an initiative according to which in 2020, 100 hectares of roofs of houses should be planted in the city, 1/3 of which will be urban farms.

The UAE, which imports 85% of the food and spends about 500 liters of water for a person per day, is also looking for options. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has announced an agreement with Shalimar Biotech Industries to build 12 vertical farms in Dubai. The company will build farms and develop infrastructure facilities such as desalination plants, climate control, LED lighting and automatic irrigation systems.

An exhibition is being held in London this spring, calling the future of the city as the food capital. At the event, they will present the concept of not only already known vertical farms, but also insect farms, “edible walls” and plant light sources. The goal of the exhibition is to show how agro-architecture can transform cities from consumers into producers. This will significantly increase the local production of food, in particular fresh fruits, herbs, vegetables and insects, in order to feed the rapidly growing urban and suburban areas.