The farm-to-table movement represents a profound shift in how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. Rooted in sustainability and the support of local economies, it prioritizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients and fosters direct relationships between producers and consumers. While the concept focuses on food, the spaces where these connections occur are equally important in shaping the experience, highlighting the critical role of architecture.
Through urban renewal projects, architects, urban planners, and designers can infuse new life into dilapidated urban landscapes by upgrading the infrastructure, introducing new functions into the urban fabric, and reimagining the character of open public spaces. These types of projects present interest due to their dual character: on the one side they offer an opportunity for reimagining the potential of the city, but the areas they affect are already well-ingrained within the urban fabric, raising challenges of integration and contextual adaptation.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that enhance functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability of urban areas while respecting and embracing the existing fabric of the city. From a residential neighborhood that prioritizes self-sufficiency and circularity in the Netherlands, to a highway ramp transformed into productive spaces in California, United States, or a new elevated path designed to alleviate urban congestion in the harbor of Copenhagen, his selection features projects that highlight the ever-changing character of our cities. Featuring projects from both emerging and established architectural offices such as Benthem Crouwel Architects, Space&Matter, and Vincent Callebaut Architectures, the projects demonstrate the variety of approaches needed to adapt urban environments to the needs of their residents.
URB has unveiled plans to develop Africa's most sustainable city, a development that can host 150,000 residents. Known as The Parks, the city plans to produce 100% of its energy, water & food on-site through biodomes, solar-powered air-to-water generators, and biogas production. The 1,700-hectare project will feature residential, medical, ecotourism, and educational hubs to become one of the significant contributors to the growing green and tech economy in South Africa.
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With the increase of urban density and the decrease in the availability of land, the verticalization phenomenon has intensified in cities all over the world. Similar to the vertical growth of buildings — which is often a divisive issue for architects and urban planners — many initiatives have sought in the vertical dimension a possibility to foster the use of vegetation in urban areas. Vertical gardens, farms and forests, rooftop vegetable gardens, and elevated structures for urban agriculture are some of the many possibilities of verticalization in plant cultivation, each with its unique characteristics and specific impacts on the city and its inhabitants.
But is verticalization the ideal solution to make cities greener? And what are the impacts of this action in urban areas? Furthermore, what benefits of urban plants are lost when adopting vertical solutions instead of promoting its cultivation directly on the ground?
The world's largest urban farm is set to open next year in Paris. The six-story, 150,000-square-foot garden aims to grow more than 2,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables a day. Twenty gardeners will tend to 30 different kinds of plants to produce vegetables for the community. Called Agripolis, the project uses aeroponic farming so the plants absorb water and nutrients via mist.
As young people migrate to cities in ever growing numbers, so grows the concern for the future of agriculture. Prototypes for urban/vertical farms have been developed and, considering projected urban growth, seem a likely forecast for our future.
In the offices of Pasona, the future has already arrived. The Tokyo based recruitment agency has dedicated 20% of their 215,000 square foot office to growing fresh vegetables, making it the largest urban farm in Japan.
New Zealand architect, Tim Stephens, shared his Huntington Urban Farm design with us. The farm responds to the lack of support for the sustainable practice of growing and cultivating one’s own food source, an important issue Stephens sees as becoming more prevalent as our population increases. The farm provides convenient access to individualized plots of land where users can produce their own food right in the middle of the town.
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