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Vertical Farming Complex Place making with alternative methods of food production
Tom Foley
08/23/2010
Goals & Objectives :: The Vertical Farm - A new Institution and form of urban infrastructure
Practical Realities
Vertical farming, which proposes stacking acres of crops vertically in high-rises
instead of arraying them over the earths surface, has the potential to avoid & help
reduce many of the aforementioned problems posed by the existing industrial
food complex. Ultimately its aim is not only to produce food but to promote better health for both human beings and for the worlds flora & fauna.
The Vertical farm would:
1. Take up a considerably smaller footprint than conventional farms both reducing the need to deforesting large amounts of land, while also allowing existing
farms to return to their natural state (promoting the absorption of more carbon
dioxide)
2. Be far less damaging to the environment (including ourselves) by avoiding the
use of fossil fuels and smartly eliminating its own waste with that of the city in
which it is located
The citys blackwater along with the excess plant material from the farm itself
could be incinerated generating steam to power turbines. Other renewable energy
sources such as geothermal, wind, and solar energy could be used to power the
farms production
3. With its location in a dense urban center, the vertical farm could eliminate
the need for hauling food from long distances to the point of distribution. This
would allow for a reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels, the lowering of
greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately more affordable food
4. Finally, with the addition of a community garden component, the vertical farm
could empower those who participate to become better informed about what
they eat, promoting on the whole, healthier communities (Despommier 84).
Monoculture of corn - Industrial food complex
Theoretical Issues
At its core, the Vertical farm can be viewed as a political act that subverts the values implicit in industrial food production. Instead of quantity over quality, turning a profit, & the ultimate goal of a
pliable and naive consumer with which to sustain these ends, the Vertical farm, has the potential to
be a didactic agent, encouraging the costumer to think independently, thus making better decisions
when purchasing their food. By bringing the customer in close proximity to their food source, by informing them of how their food is produced, by directly involving people in the production process,
through community gardens and new jobs, the currently alienating act of purchasing food becomes
a source of liberation & empowerment. Ultimately, the goal behind the Vertical farm is a healthier,
more knowledgeable citizenry that acts for the future and not just for the present.
Project Objectives
Goals for designing a vertical farm in Philadelphia are:
1. To ensure healthier, more empowered Philadelphians
2. To promote communal activity. The site at which the vertical farm springs should be a place
of meeting and coming together. It should be a home for the spreading of ideas and the promotion of sustainability as a set of values. The vertical farm and the complex in which it is situated
should respond directly in terms of form/use to the adjacent city fabric while taking into consideration the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods
3. To treat this problem as a problem of infrastructure. The vertical farm has the power to become an important and even essential component of the various systems (energy, water, waste)
that help run this city and all others
4. To, after all else, maximize the towers presence as a symbol evoking its positive, life sustaining
purpose from near and afar
Image Credits
http://www.ifaj.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Photo_Contest/2008/nature/Cornfield.jpg
http://chey04.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/deforest.jpg
http://aspenranchrealestate.com/images/steersinfeedlot_000.jpg
http://www.ecokaren.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HFCS-study-from-Princeton-University.jpg
http://www.go-explore-trans.org/images/2007/nov-dec/cars_corn_mill.jpg
http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/new-coca-cola-bottle.jpg
http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2008/08/michael-phelps-kelloggs-corn-flakes.jpg
http://static.open.salon.com/files/big_mac1249422029.jpg
http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2008/08/01/fat-shirtless-guy-eating-cheeseburger-2_kiq3d_17340.jpg
Table of Contents
Precedent Studies
Site Analysis
Programming Models
Functional Relationships
Space Program
Cost Estimate
Code Analysis
Project Schedule
Precedent Study #1
Title : Urban Farm, Urban Epicenter
Location : Located in the Meat Packing district in lower Manhattan,
adjacent to the Highline & river front
Programmatic Section
Programmatic Relationships:
Water Collection
Vertical Circulation
Programmatic Floor
Plan
Farming Support
facilities
-Storage
-Labs
-Working areas
-Private Lounge
Public Programs
-Reading Areas
-Book Stacks,
-Public Lounge
Private
Offices
Communal
Greenhouse
Semi-Public
Public Observation
Public
Water Purification
1. Anaerobic Septic
Tank
2. Aerobic Reactor
3. Clarifier
4. Indoor Wetlands
Farmers Market
Below
Sloping floor
plate
Vegetable Growth Area
-The floor plates slope
toward the south carrying
water via gravity to plants
Private
Residences
Private
Deck
Public
N
Industrial
&
Experimental Farming
Private/Public
Public
Private/Public
Highline
Community Gardens/Farming
Street Level
Precedent Study #2
Title : Experimental Vertical Farm - Urban artificial ecosystem
Location : Santiago, Chile; as a prototype located in wasted urban
Project Issues
Social: The social component doesnt express itself in the projects given program
but rather in the exposition - a case is made for why vertical farming can be a
more environmentally responsible solution to the question of food production
than traditional farming, how the thoughtful placement of vertical farms in a city
can turn unproductive vestigial spaces into vital food producing places with positive identities, & finally how the vertical farm will create new job opportunities
for local residences. The only public program is at the towers base where there
is an array of gardens & the distribution center, which functions as the public
interface
Technological: While the previous project stressed the public connections the
vertical farm as a typology must make with its surrounds, this project places
emphasis on the VFs role as a major source of food, and thus on the buildings
overall efficiency. The intention is for it to function just as a natural ecosystem
would using sunlight, wind, & gravity to do the work rather than fossil fuels.
Focuses:
1.) The programmatic layout in section works to streamline production so that
the plants/crops are always traveling downward in the production process
2.) Like with the other project the floor plates for the actual growing of plants are
sloped to efficiently carry water & air
3.) More emphasis is placed in this project on the building skin and how it will
capture and store heat for ventilation purposes
4.) There is less concern or sensitivity, than with the first project, to how sun
actually penetrates the building skin and what angle or form the skin might take
on to optimize that penetration
5.) Plants are located within each floor plate according to how much light they
need
Programmatic Section
Programmatic Relationships:
Plan & Section
Crop Unit
The main floor plate in agricultural production slops so as
to more efficiently distribute
water and air via gravity
Floor plate
Programmatic Floor
Plan
Crop area
Plants located in different zones per how
much light/radiation
they need
Energy collection
Solar panels
Agricultural Production
1. Planting
2. Maintenance
3. Harvest
Private
Private
Central Core
1. main plumbing/ventilation
2. storage
3. freight elevators
4. walkways from floor to floor
Building skin
The double skin acts as a
trombe wall capturing and
controlling heat gain - helping
to maintain constant temperatures during the day and night
Packing
Cleaning &
Simple processing
Storage
Private
Private
Private
Public
Project Site
Part of what makes vertical farming a viable solution for the future production of food is the ability
to locate the building close to distributors and
purchasers of produce. Whereas the food which
comprises the average American meal travels 1500
miles from the source to the plate, with the vertical farm it might travel a mile (Pollan). Accordingly, this proximity cuts down tremendously on
fuel consumption.
Locating a vertical farm in Philadelphia, Ive chosen a site that will maximize the vertical farms effectiveness in this regard. Placing it in an area just
north of the Convention Center that is bounded
by the Vine Street Expressway, the vertical farm
will be closest to the greatest number of people,
right in the heart of Center City.
Reading Viaduct
Independence Mall
Rittenhouse Park
Schuylkill River
Delaware River
Connections
Vine Street
Focus Area
Race Street
Reading
Terminal
11th Street
Broad Street
Convention Center
Immediate Context
The site is home to low-rise warehouses, surface parking lots along Vine Street, historic
buildings and rowhomes, hotels/lofts, & small scale commercial activity along Race
Street.
Its boarded by three main districts: Chinatown to the east, the Loft District to the
north, & Center City to the south and west
Site Benefits
Center City
Reading
Terminal
Focus Area
11th St
Chinatown
Loft District
Broad St
Buildable Areas
Arch St
Programming Models
Potential VF Program
Farming program
Hydroponic growing
Support facilities
Building systems
Vertical circulations
Administrations
Packing & Distributions
Housing
Offices
Retail
Community gardens
Outreach
Civic space/Great room
Community program
Civic spaces
Outreach
Community gardens
Retail
Community gardens
Outreach - educational facilities, community rooms, observation deck
Civic plaza/Great room
Offices
Housing
Administrations
Vertical circulations
Building systems
Support facilities
Matrix
Hydroponic growing
Adjacency
Precedent Programs
Contextual program
Key
Most
Least
Study #1
1. Industrial/experimental farming
-Farming support facilities
+Storage
+Labs
+Working areas
+Private lounge
-Hydroponic growing area
-Public outreach
+Reading areas
+Book stacks
+Public Lounge
2. Tower base
-Community gardens
-Farmers market
-Shops
-Civic plaza
3. Water Purification component
-Anaerobic septic tank
-Aerobic Reactor
-Clarifier
-Indoor Wetlands
4. Public observation deck
5. Communal greenhouse
6. Offices
7. Residences
8. Water collection component
Study #2
1. Agricultural Production
-Support area
+Storage
+Plumbing
+Freight elevators
-Hydroponic growing area
2. Tower base
-Dispatching & distribution
-Community gardens
3. Crop storage
4. Packing facilities
5. Solar energy collection
Project Issues
Community Technology
Chinatown
Loft District
Center City
Convention
Center guests
tourists
Physical links
Program
connections
Destination
Gardens
Site
Outreach
Phasing
Form
Growing of
crops
Building
context
Educational
interface
Towers
Scale
Hydroponics
Rowhomes
Overall
complex
Height
Drip
Irrigation
Historic
Buildings
Surrounding
communities
Aeroponics
Lofts
Energy
harvesting
Warehouses
Small business
Waste
incineration
Solar, wind
& geothermal
energy
Building skin
Sunlight
Ventilation
Irrigation/water collection
Waste
management
Structure/
building
materials
Vertical
circulation
Surface
parking lots
Vine St Expressway
Reading
Viaduct
Convention
Center
City Hall,
Broad St,
Center City,
Reading
Terminal
Market
Hanamen
hospital
Roman
Catholic
High School
Gardening
programs
Tourism
interface
Housing
Offices
Relationship
to City Hall
Retail
Expression
Physical
Farming/food connections
production across Vine St
display/tours
Exwy
Agricultural
school
Community
gardens
Roman
Catholic
High School
Convention
Center
connections
Presence on
Broad St &
Vine St Exwy
Volume
Structure
Building skin
Plant growth
Human
activity
Procession/
experience/
image
For tourist/
visitor
For
Philadelphian
For local
Civic space/
Great room
Views down
the river
Functional Relationships
Potential VF Program
Hydroponic growing
Support facilities - SF
Reading Viaduct
Building systems - BS
Community gardens
Vertical circulation - VC
Administration
Packing & Distribution
Convention Center
Housing
Office
Retail
Community gardens
Outreach
Option 1
Reading Viaduct
BS
&
VC
Hydroponic growing
Support facilities
Administration
Great View
Condos
Living/
Offices
500 - Height of
City Hall
100
Community gardens
Living & Retail
Vine St Expressway
Convention Center
Buildable areas
Connection
to Viaduct
Community gardens
Living & Retail
Tower
Programmatic
Section cut
Broad
St
Living
Offices
SF
BS & VC
Tower
Convention
Center
SF
Solar/water
collection
Hydroponic growing
Public observation deck
500 - Height of
Community space
City Hall
Option 2
Living/
Offices
BS
&
VC
Hydroponic growing
Support facilities
Administration
Solar/water collection
Civic space/Great room
Outreach
Farmers Market
P&D
Vine St Expressway
Community gardens
Living & Retail
Convention Center
Gross sqft
Hydroponic growing
495,000 sqft
Support facilities
Administration
Building systems
Vertical circulation
Departmental
Space Allocations
Living
Offices
30 floors @
16,500 sqft
Support facilities
Administration
30 floors @
6,600 sqft
198,000 sqft
Hydroponic
growing
30 floors @
16,500 sqft
72,000 sqft
180,000 sqft
Tower Total
Vertical Circulation
Building systems
36 floors @
2,000 sqft
495,000 sqft
Civic space
Outreach
Farmers Market
P&D
4 floors @
45,000 sqft
1,440,000 sqft
Maximum
Volume/Massing
Living/
Offices
SF
500 tall
36 floors @
45,000 sqft per floor
BS & VC
SF
Solar/water
collection
Hydroponic growing
Public observation deck
500 - Height of
Community space
City Hall
Option 2
Living
Offices
BS
&
VC
Hydroponic growing
Support facilities
Administration
Convention
Center
Community gardens
Living & Retail
Reading Viaduct
Community gardens
Living & Retail
Code Analysis
Work Cited
Despommier, Dickson. The Rise of Vertical Farms. Scientific American 301.5 (2009):
80-87. Web.
[The study area falls under a C4 classification]. C4 is a high density commercial district that allows mixed use development in highrise buildings. C4 has its own sign regulations. The basic amount
of gross floor area permitted is 500%. An additional 800% of gross
floor area is permitted for meeting specific requirements
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivores Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals. New
York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
Woolley, Hillary. Vegetables in the Sky. Fortune International 156 (2007). Web.
Student projects from verticalfarm.com
Philadelphia Urban Design draft report from 10/2009
Spring Street Narrative - an Urban Design Study
Schedule/final product
Date
Final Program
09/13/2010
-Develop a schematic master plan that synthesizes the previous data gathered, presenting possible layouts and configurations of the current program
on a given site
-Further accumulate case studies and technical research that will help the project transition from a master planning stage to a design stage
Intermediate Review
-While responding to criticism, choose a single master plan option and focus on its preliminary design (volume, form, and aesthetic expression) as a
01/08/2011
whole
-For the vertical farm, allow the accrued technical knowledge acquired by this point to inform decisions made in plan, section, elevation concerning
basic food production, building aesthetics, and occupant experience
-Focus on the vertical farms overall expression, concentrating on its presence as a possible symbolic centerpiece for the complex and city at large
Final Review/Product
-After incorporating the suggestions and criticism garnered at the intermediate review, push the architectural/expressionistic qualities of the tower
04/30/2011
and master plan so that an immediate sense of coherency, identity, and place is felt and achieved with the overall design.
-Ensure that the verbal and physical presentation evince the project as a logical, fluid, and transparent progression towards an architectural solution.
-The final product comprised of eye level and aerial perspectives, photo collages, sections/elevations/plans, and physical models will tell a varied
experiential story, demonstrating what the vertical farming complex will be like for those who work, shop, garden, grow, and live within its
physical-symbolic presence.