How to Use Vertical Farming for Sustainable Living
Sourced from ArchDaily
Increasing in both size and number, cities worldwide are experiencing accelerated growth. With green land regularly lost to either urbanization or its effects – such as rising sea levels or natural disasters – and expanding populations meaning more mouths to feed, the farming and agricultural industries are in crisis. Viewed by many as the solution, vertical farming is the practice of stacking layers of crops atop each other, using humanity’s latest design and engineering tech to grow more with less space.
More traditional horizontal farmland, however, does more for the environment than simply growing our food. The open-air green spaces often serve as natural habitats, air filtration, and temperature control for the surrounding area. By stepping up the concept of vertical farming into the world of architecture, we can bring all the goodness of the farm, straight to our doorstep.
Improve air quality in the street, in public spaces, and at home
Absorbing and re-emitting the sun’s heat, urban infrastructure such as roads and buildings create a heat island effect. In order to address and reduce this, many new buildings tend to employ green facades. The Urban Farming Office building by VTN Architects, for example, aims to reverse the divergence of Ho Chi Minh City from its origins as a sprawling tropical forest. ‘Demonstrating the possibility of vertical urban farming,’ introduces VTN Architects, its facade creates a ‘comfortable microclimate throughout the building, filtering sunlight and purifying the air.’
It’s not only buildings’ exteriors where vertical farming can have a positive effect on air quality. At The Offices of Buck O’Neill Builders by jones | haydu, for example, a living wall draws and filters air through its variety of plants, before recycling it back into the space with a connected fan. In the Bathyard Home, Husos Architects has demonstrated the value that certain humidity-loving plants can bring. ‘In a strategic location between two humid spaces,’ explain the architects, the potted, raised, and hanging plants absorb excess moisture and therefore reduce humidity and mold in the small, central bathroom.
The healthy aesthetic of flexible realism
Although beneficial on a personal and public level, natural products and installations such as living walls require intricate irrigation systems, taking up more space and demanding regular maintenance. Such an ongoing expense may be out of the question for some project budgets, but the biophilic bonus of the aesthetic alone helps to improve mental health and wellness.
From the Living Architecture Monitor
