In their winning competition entry, French architecture firm Ilimelgo reimagines the future of urban agriculture with a vertical farming complex in the Parisian suburb of Romainville. The project integrates production of produce into the city through a 1000 square meter greenhouse that maximizes sunlight and natural ventilation. Recognizing the developing world’s diminishing agricultural space, the project aims to meet the growing demands for crop cultivation in urban environments.
Conscious of this need, the city of Romainville has been supporting sustainable and forward-thinking alternatives to small plot-based agriculture. Though they have implemented many rooftop and allotment gardens in the past decade, the Vertical Farm represents a comprehensive dedication to sustainability, education, and local economic participation.
The building is split into two wings to aid crop growth, taking advantage of sunlight and limiting shade. Organic building materials such as straw bale and wood fiber insulation add to the sustainability of the project. The form of the Vertical Farm, a rectangular prism with a triangular roofline, is a reference to the existing architecture in the area.
The ground floor of the building houses educational space, offering workshops and an instructional garden to teach the public about cultivation. Also included on the first floor is a place for crops to be sold.The Vertical Farm creates a small production loop, growing produce in the same place where is available for purchase by local residents.
The upper floors feature spaces for bio-intensive farming using culture containers. Specially irrigated to provide healthy environments for specific crops, the containers also allow for a flexible and dynamic organization of space. The facility houses a mushroom farm, orchards, a henhouse, and laboratories that experiment in seed germination.
Currently raising funds for the project, the final delivery is slated for Summer 2018.
News Via: Ilimelgo.
