More Vertical Farms

Cities have always been at the mercy of the countryside for food and raw materials. But what if cities could grow their own food, their own livestock, their own biomass, fuels, and fibres? Such a city-state might be a bit more sustainable through times of scarcity.

The City of Vancouver has ambitious plans to become the most sustainable city in the world. This spring they held the FormShift Vancouver Competition to develop and improve the city’s livability through greener, denser developments. The Harvest Green Tower received an honorable mention in the Primary category for a mixed use primary (arterial) site along a major Vancouver street that includes a rapid transit station. Their vertical farm concept is centered around sustainable food production as well as the creation of a multi-purpose space that can house, transport, feed and entertain people.

The tower consists of interlocking tubes that grow various fruits and vegetables, house chickens and contain an aquaponic fish farm. On top of the vertical growing tower is a rainwater cistern to collect and help water all the plants and animals. At the base of the tower is a livestock grazing plain, as well as a bird habitat and boutique sheep and goat dairy facility. Underneath that is a grocery store, farmer’s market and Harvest Tower Restaurant. Renewable energy is produced from rooftop mounted wind turbines and photovoltaic glazing on the building with the additional help of geothermal heat pumps and methane generation from composting. _ImpactLab

Eventually, a design team along with an innovative builder will get it right. Crops need sun, water, and nutrients to grow optimally. They must be protected from frost and other harsh conditions. But given the proper environment, even high latitude cities should be able to grow abundant crops year round. Energy costs will be higher than on a rural farm, but transportation and storage costs should be less.