Back in 2011, I got a call from a good friend “I’m moving to New York to work at a 3D printer company,” she announced, to which I responded “what in the world is that?” Since, the term has trickled into mainstream jargon, and, while most people still aren’t quite sure how exactly 3D printing works, it is no longer the obscure concept it used to be. The idea actually dates back to the 80s but really started getting attention in 2007 when 3D systems introduced the first machine created for under $10,000. Over the past few years, the concept has exploded and 3D printing is now being used in many diverse fields from the automotive to the medical industry and everything in between. For our purposes, I’m going to focus on its application as it related to the agricultural and food industry but encourage you to explore its other uses if you are interested (namely: 3d printing organs).
So lets start from the beginning: how does 3D printing even work? Well, here is the simplest definition I have found “3D printing is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created.” Things start getting interesting as you explore what different “materials” can be used. Most commonly used is PLA plastic but most everything has been tried from graphite, to live cells to, well, food.
When it comes to culinary purposes the material is loaded into a feeder are ingredients in powdered or pureed form, the container gets heated and filaments of the ingredient are extracted and used to make various shapes. The challenge that comes into play is because some foods need to be heated, cooled or cured as they are extracted so that their filament can be built upon. Since recipes call for more than one ingredient, the process becomes complicated quickly, as such, most 3D printed food only works for single-ingredients. Another issue that needs to be addressed before becoming more mainstream overcoming the painfully slow process of 3D printing. These hurdles won’t be up for long, innovations in the field are made everyday and the possibilities for its applications are very exciting. Whether used for outer-space exploration or to give customers the ability to craft their food to their specific needs, 3D printed food is being explored on many facets. The technology also gives the ability for us to challenge our notion of the aesthetics of food; a 3D printing machine gives cooks a radical new way to play with form, shape and color, like what ChefJet is doing when printing this candy.
The most advanced food-based 3D printer currently available belongs to the Systems and Materials Research Corporation who built a machine for NASA that is able to combine different ingredients and provide a variety of meals previously not available in the space-food market. The project gained a lot of attention back in 2014 after a video of the machine printing a pizza for NASA astronauts went viral. A slew of consumer-market equipment is being developed around the food printing concept. One brand is CocoJet, specializing in chocolate-based printing. Another is Morph’s Cake and chocolate extruder. Of course, along with the hype, comes criticism, namely around the taste of the printed foods and their applications to create unhealthy, sugar-containing products. One interesting project, Edible Growth, is looking to combat this notion. The creator, Chloe Rutzerveld, creates fully edible, 3D printed ecosystems using a mixture of seeds, yeast and spores. After a few days of curating, the structures can be eaten.
There is also Foodini the machine that lets the user input fresh food paste into reusable capsules so they can print healthy food at home. The food, however, is not cooked by machine. The most promising company, however, is TNO a dutch research group whose focus is on exploring the possibilities of 3D printed food on health and well-being. Centered around the idea of empowering customers to tailor their food to their needs, researchers at TNO compile health data on participants and the cater the 3D printed meals to feed them the precise amount of nutrients they need. Furthermore, they are actively exploring the use of alternative protein such as algae and insect powder to incorporate into their product offerings. This particular aspect of material sourcing is extremely applicable to urban farmers involved in cricket farming or alga culture.
It is one thing to make 3D printed food but what are the possible direct application of 3D printing as it relates to the indoor farming world? Well, in the immediacy, 3D printing offers small urban farmers the ability to 3D print growing systems on a small-scale to test a concept out. In the same way that architecture students are now making renderings by simply printing them from an auto-cad file, indoor growers will be able to test growing systems by printing small-scale versions. This application can range from simply printing an aerator wand to printing entire systems. 3Dponics is an open-source community looking to develop DIY solutions that explore solutions for aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponic operations using 3d printing. Beyond creating the systems, 3D printing could be used to create structures of biodegradable media in which seeds are implanted and simply needs to be placed in a hydroponic system to grow. This would remove the intense labor around sowing and transplanting young seedlings. My business partner and I, are particularly interested in this application. We took a class in February where we built a 3D printer and hope to use it to extract alginate and seeds as the same time. Once cured, the alginate provides a vegan, natural, growing media for the seeds in which to grow.
While still finding its place in the world, 3d printing and the possibilities it offers cannot be underestimated. As makers, it is important we learn how to utilize this tool for it can empower us to become more independent and create our own product solutions, which could lead to some incredible innovations in the industry.
Julie Buisson is the co-founder of Modernature, a company that specializes in creating and selling live growing systems for use in urban environments. A recent graduate of the dual program between Johns Hopkins and M.I.C.A, Julie has a strong academic background in human centered design, a problem solving method rooted in empathizing with the user experience, which she uses to tackle issues around urban agriculture. Certified in permaculture practice, she is passionate about creating growing systems that are technology-driven but imitate production patterns found in nature. Originally from France, Julie now lives in Baltimore where she grows a variety of microgreens in a 14ft trailer and sells them to local restaurants. Read Julie’s other articles.
Exploring sound as it relates to food is fascinating. Although the practice is still under much speculation, more and more areas are playing with the idea. From the growing process to the user experience, sonic waves are being used to alter and enhance the food experience.
Using sound to change the way we experience taste. “The Bittersweet Study” conducted at Oxford University demonstrates how sound can manipulate how we experience food. "High pitched sounds are mainly associated with sweet and sour tasting foods while low pitched notes are more commonly paired with more bitter and umami tastes” states Scientific American. You can conduct the experiment yourself listening to the two different sound bits provided here. The term for this practice is “modulating taste.” It is based on the recent discovery that most humans have synesthesia when it comes to taste, and that sound plays a big role in the enjoyment of food. This means musical seasoning could become more mainstream in the future. Companies like British Airways have already implemented an idea around the concept by providing a “Sound Bite” playlist to combat the bland taste of airplane food.
Using sound to increase crop yields Using both music and sound waves has shown to affect plant growth both indoors and outdoors. Dorothy Retallack published “The Sound of Music and Plants” demonstrating the impact of classical versus rock music on different crops and finding classical Indian music to promote the most positive reactions over all other genres. This finding is backed up by T.C Singh’s experiments who improved rice, tobacco and peanut yields by 25-60% when he exposed them to Indian music. The impact of harmonic sound waves on the growth of plants can also be seen at the germinating stage as can be seen in this study using spring and winter wheat. Sound treatment is a practice worth exploring further, especially in the indoor growing field where small improvements in plant environment can lead to great changes.
Using sound to improve food storage. The USDA has been busy recording sound files of different insects to create a library database that could help improve food storage. You can listen to the sounds on the USDA’s website. The idea is to detect the presence of unwanted pests in crops. Applications could be for silo bins but also used in small indoor farms.
Using sound to “age” food. A new gadget has emerged making use of sonic waves to improve the taste of wine. The Sonic Decanter claims to be able to enhance the flavor of any wine by using ultrasonic energy to modify the wine chemistry and essentially “age” the wine in minutes. Along the same lines, ultrasonic waves could be used to accelerate the fermentation process by increasing the production of metabolites.
As we continue to discover the way in which frequencies affect our brain and our environment, the practice of ultrasonic farming and supersonic food is bound to grow. In the meantime, think about testing the theory yourself and sharing your findings.
Julie Buisson is the co-founder of Modernature, a company that specializes in creating and selling live growing systems for use in urban environments. A recent graduate of the dual program between Johns Hopkins and M.I.C.A, Julie has a strong academic background in human centered design, a problem solving method rooted in empathizing with the user experience, which she uses to tackle issues around urban agriculture. Certified in permaculture practice, she is passionate about creating growing systems that are technology-driven but imitate production patterns found in nature. Originally from France, Julie now lives in Baltimore where she grows a variety of microgreens in a 14ft trailer and sells them to local restaurants. Julie is an avid traveler and poem-reader!
Julie recently joined agritecture.com as our lead contributor and will be posting frequently through 2016. See other contributors atagritecture.com/team
I first got wind of INFARM (AVF members) when my friend Rosemary returned from a residency in Berlin. She had sublet an apartment from a girl who worked for the company. She sent me a link to their website and, after some research of my own, I became truly intrigued. I browsed through pictures of the current INFARM facilities. Located in an atelier previously belonging to artist Mark Frisinger, the space is open and produce is incorporated seamlessly into the environment. Padded greens atop a desk, a shared table with a living wall backdrop, and cocktail carts growing fresh herbs. Even more enchanting than the setting is the story behind how the company started. Mostly because it feels genuine, almost romantic. The founders of INFARM are two brothers, Erez and Guy Galonska who began experiments in their childhood home of Neukölln, by building a 10meter pipe garden. Neither of the brothers had any solid previous experience with farming, Erez was trained as a cinematographer and Guy as a chef. When I asked Erez in a later interview about what sparked his company he responded:
“I was always very passionate about being self sufficient. I traveled to remote communities where what you grow is what you eat. At this period farming became a big part of my life. I discovered that growing food, is such a powerful and natural experience - when you eat truly fresh vegetables you recognise immediately how tastier and healthier they are. When I came back to my flat in the city the feeling of freedom and freshness dissolved very quickly and the urban chaos took over . I was longing for a piece of land. One night I googled: “can I farm without soil?” and the answer I got was: ‘hydroponics’"
He subsequently enrolled the help of his girlfriend, Osnat, and his brother to watch youtube tutorials and learn about the practice. Having moved to Berlin, they decided to prototype in their living room at the beginning of 2013.
"One month later, we had a jungle farm full of delicious greens. It was February in Berlin, cold and snowing outside, and we had fresh vegetables inside. From this first pipe garden, INFARM was born. We wanted to share the magic of growing with everyone, and to create the tools for an urban farming revolution."
INFARM has since focused on developing solutions for indoor vertical agriculture. Rather than growing and selling produce, they develop simplified and customized growing systems for various entities. They have been very successful and have big names in their client portfolio such as Mercedes Benz, 25h hotels and Airbnb.
"In 2015, we have launched the first InStore farm in Europe inside METRO Cash & Carry (the largest wholesale food retailer in Germany ) supermarket in Berlin. It is a vertical farm growing leafy greens 365 days a year in full transparency and by demand, right in front of the customer’s eyes.”
Through working on various systems and having to problem-solve for different environments, the company was able to develop a streamlined solution that is easily scalable.
"Our experience and research has led us to designing the Microfarm - a modular , highly efficient vertical farming building block. With this building block one can build vertical farms in restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and even at home and achieve the efficiency of state of the art hydroponic greenhouse from the first 1sqm."
The Microfarm is INFARM’s core innovation. The prototype has gone through various iterations but is now in the final stages of development. The product has gained a lot of interest, and the company received funding through the European Pioneers program that will allow them to mass produce Microfarms and bring them to market. Ezra is confident it will change the accessibility of indoor farming.
“The Microfarm is a building block that allows far greater production efficiency than any other product in the market today. From each 1sqm growing tray we harvest 4-6 mature plants every day, 365 days a year. Now, when you stack the trays vertically you increase production dramatically.The plants grow Hydroponically, on a thin layer of water enriched with fertilisers and oxygen. Custom made LED growing lights mimic different sun spectrums to enhance taste and boost nutritional value. We use micro sensors and data processing, to ensure that the plants get the best conditions to thrive. Despite of its complexity, the device is easy to use, comfortably controlled by an App, making farming possible for everyone."
Furthermore, the company is dedicated to educating the public so that they can feel empowered to join the movement.
“In our headquarters in Berlin we are often hosting groups for workshops and culinary events where people can learn and experience infarming."
This educational component is key to the company fulfilling its goal of creating a network of small farms. They believe that the agricultural revolution will take place through decentralization and localization.
“We envision a future in which cities become self sufficient in their food production. oursolution is made of small hyper efficient farms, spread across the city, right where people live and eat. These indoor farms eliminate waste and the need for transportation, reducing significantly the impact on our environment. Our approach is to build these farms in unused spaces inside buildings, rather than building new structures."
This last sentence is important because it provides an extra layer of focus. Unlike other controlled environmental agriculture start-ups that are looking to raise a quarter million dollars to build greenhouses, INFARM looks for small solutions making use of unused space and reducing waste produced. Like other urban farmers, Ezra has a sense of urgency when he discusses the importance of changing the way we grow produce.
"Our food travels 1500 km , passing through 28 pairs of hands and wasting incredible amounts of energy. On top of that, 30% of the food produced is wasted before it arrives to our plate. Agriculture has become one of the most harmful industries to our planet. It is responsible for 70% of the planet’s water use, for up to 24% of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for the degradation of soil. We must increase production while consuming less resources and creating less environmental impact. Growing locally and by demand eliminates waste, as well as all the need for transportation. Growing Hydroponically save 90% water and 70% fertilizers. Growing vertically, in a controlled environment, allows to maximize space and to farm year round.”
While these numbers might seem familiar to many of the people who follow us, they never cease to be relevant and are always the common denominator in our field. INFARM has a deep sense of respect for the cause of agricultural revolution and the promise of vertical farming. Their success in Berlin and now internationally, proves another spreading of awareness on how the future of ag is both beautiful and purposeful.
Julie Buisson is the co-founder of Modernature, a company that specializes in creating and selling live growing systems for use in urban environments. A recent graduate of the dual program between Johns Hopkins and M.I.C.A, Julie has a strong academic background in human centered design, a problem solving method rooted in empathizing with the user experience, which she uses to tackle issues around urban agriculture. Certified in permaculture practice, she is passionate about creating growing systems that are technology-driven but imitate production patterns found in nature. Originally from France, Julie now lives in Baltimore where she grows a variety of microgreens in a 14ft trailer and sells them to local restaurants. Julie is an avid traveler and poem-reader!
Julie recently joined agritecture.com as our lead contributor and will be posting frequently through 2016. See other contributors at agritecture.com/team
Aquaponics is a term that most of us are familiar with. It refers to the closed-loop hydroponics method that uses fish waste as a natural fertilizer for plants. While aquaponics is a method that has been around for centuries and has been lauded for its sustainability, it is still very rarely seen in vertical farming practices. Why? After all, there are successful examples of the technology being used. Verticulture in Brooklyn, NY has a beautiful aquaponics operation in an old Pfizer warehouse where they grow barges of fresh basil alongside their tilapia. Edenworks also has a small greenhouse in Brooklyn that grows a variety of produce using aquaponics. Bustan aquaponics in Egypt is also a shinning example of the symbiotic system at work. Aquaponics as a closed-loop system can be extremely efficient but various challenges with the technique have prevented it from being more widely adopted.
In order to find out more about this issue, I went to visit the Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore, MD. It was a Wednesday during open house hours when I walked into “The Foods System Lab” a small urban farm run by Johns Hopkins Center for a Living Future as a teaching and research farm. I was the only visitor and was able to spend time with Laura Genello, the farm manager, who patiently answered all my questions. Laura has a B.S. in Environment Science from Brown University and developed an interest in farming when she spent a couple of seasons as an apprentice in Rhode Island learning about small-scale, soil-based vertical farming. Having worked at the Food Systems Lab for the past 3.5 years, she now is an expert at growing in water as well.
Laura and I walk around the greenhouse where she shows me the different set-ups they have to test various media and growing systems. They have a flood and drain system where they grow root vegetables in gravel. They also have a large water culture system where leafy greens can be seen emerging from containers nestled in styrofoam panels. Finally a couple of PVC pipes lining the side demonstrate the nutrient film technique. We spend most of our time, however, around a large plastic barrel containing some fifteen tilapia fish. Tilapia is the go-to fish for aquaponics operation because they are easy to care for and can be consumed. Standing there, watching the produce flourishing and the fish splashing along, it seems easy, I ask her we aren’t seeing more of this in the vertical farming industry.
“I think economics are at the heart of the slow take-off of aquaponics. These systems are infrastructure and cost intensive to start-up, and depending on costs of various inputs, cannot easily outcompete hydroponic, or soil-based growers. Moreover, aquaponics is really knowledge intensive, requiring an understanding of both the fish and the plants. There’s a steep learning curve, and too many entrepreneurs discount that learning curve when considering how quickly they can expect to recoup their investment. Energy costs are a big issue. How can renewable energy be integrated into aquaponics systems?”
This idea of energy savings comes to the forefront when we start discussing the needs of the fish. As a tropical fish Tilapia require 72 degree water to survive. This represents a big energy cost to add to an already significant heating bill, especially in the winter. This energy cost she says, is one of the biggest flaws in the system:
“It’s important for us not to operate under the assumption that aquaponics is inherently environmentally sustainable because it uses fish waste as a fertilizer. We need to continue to consider and work to improve, the sustainability of many of the inputs in these systems (fish feed, energy use, plastic and polystyrene components, etc).”
I ask her why they do not use fresh-water fish that can be found in Maryland and more easily survive harsh climates. She explains to me that the water needs to be warm regardless so that the bacteria can survive. Bacteria plays a vital role in the system as it breaks down the ammonia from the fish into nitrate for the plants. This example only but highlights the complexity of the system where no input can be fully controlled and success lies in finding the right balance between the amount of waste produced by fish and the nutritional requirements of the plants. To Laura, this lack of control is what puts aquaponics at a disadvantage.
“There is a lot of excitement in the agricultural industry around hydroponic and aquaponic agriculture right now because they give us the option to grow food nearly anywhere in tightly controlled environments. It¹s important to note that these two technologies are distinct. It¹s much easier for a grower to make hydroponics work commercially. A hydroponic grower purchases nutrient inputs for the plants and can exercise a great degree of control over what nutrients the plants get at different stages of their growth. The idea of using fish waste as a fertilizer and raising two crops is exciting, but aquaponics does not offer the same degree of control that hydroponics does. Moreover, in aquaponics, the farmer must add additional inputs to the system to keep the fish alive, such as fish feed, energy and labor. The value of the fish produced does not always compensate for the cost of these inputs. Because of these factors, it¹s difficult to make aquaponics work commercially (it is farming, after all). I certainly see the hydroponic industry as continuing to grow, but I think more research and improvements in aquaponics are needed before it really takes off at a large scale.”
Laura hypothesizes that wide-scale approach to the adoption of aquaponics could be found in different applications of the principle within environments conducive to such a system. “ I think people will continue to experiment with taking the principals of aquaponics and applying them in ways that offer greater resilience to the grower, such as decoupled (non-recirculating systems), which fish waste from an aquaculture operation is used to irrigate nearby fields.”This is essentially how the first aquaponics systems operated. Used by the Maya and subsequently the Aztecs, the first aquaculture was done on top of rafts using nutrient rich mud from the lake.
Julie Buisson recently joined agritecture.com as our lead contributor and will be posting frequently through 2016. See other contributors at agritecture.com/team
Bright AgroTech’s Bright Future in Vertical Farming
by Julie Buisson
As an emerging industry, vertical farming’s character is still being molded. Players in the field have big hurdles to overcome, including being able to produce at the same efficiency as conventional agriculture but without it’s destructive effects. Furthermore, they have to convince farmers to adopt completely new technology and reassure consumers who are uneasy about the idea of factory-produced greens. At this early stage, the way vertical farming companies interact with their users, and each other, shapes the way the industry will grow. As one of the leaders in this domain, Bright Agrotech is a good example of a company that can help pave the way for ethical business within our field.
At its core, Bright Agrotech sells an easy-to-use vertical growing technology called ZipGrow Towers. Made out of food-safe PVC and filled with reusable Matrix Media, ZipGrow Towers are lightweight, versatile, and relatively cheap. The technology allows for scalability, allowing anyone to start growing, regardless of the amount of space available. Using Volumetric farming, matching heights to weight to light, the towers achieve high production rates even in the harshest environments. While the usability of the technology has gotten a lot of attention, it is the incredible support system behind the product that has been the catalyst for the company’s success. In addition to having excellent customer service, Bright Agrotech provides free consulting services, instructional videos and documents to help clients get started.
The company’s motto is simple: focus on the farmer. The driving force between this customer-centric path is founder and CEO Nate Storey. I recently had the chance to speak with Nate on the phone. I caught him during his layover in L.A, on the way to Singapore for 4 days. I can’t help but mention the endurance of the flight for such a short trip. He laughs and adds that he is also stopping by China on the way to meet with farmers and check some installations their distributor set-up. This is the perfect example of the type of effort Bright AgroTech takes to forge personal relationships with its clients. This dedication has led ZipGrow towers to be used on all continents apart from Antartica. “ But we’re working on it,” Nate adds. Nate believes the success of his company depends on how productive farmers are when using his product.
"The reality is that vertical farming is doing well, our company has tripled every year for the past four years, same for our farmers, they are mostly small and out-of-sight, out-of-mind people growing with 1000-3000sq ft.”
Dealing with small, start-up farms is what Nate likes to focus on.
"Bigger is not better. I believe that the focus should be on production, not on size, because its easy to get things wrong when you go really big, really fast. I think it is happening in the industry on some level. I want to start with individuals who really know their community so that it grows more organically. I want people to invest small amounts and get returns by investing in their community.”
When I asked him to expand what direction he believes the industry is going, he says it will be comprised of two extremes: on one end, mega producers using vertical farming on a big scale, on the other end, a large eco-system of small producers looking to fulfill a niche market. For his part, Nate is looking to empower the small and medium producers. He explains that during 80s and 90s there was a big structural change in greenhouse industry that caused everyone to go bigger and bigger. The market forces at the time meant economies of scale was the only way to make any money. To avoid this from happening again, Bright Agrotech is looking to develop technology for small and medium growers that allows them to operate more efficiently and in a way that makes economies of scale less of a focus. Rather, Nate wants farmers to become more sustainable in growing their business.
"We think about the future that we want to exist in but also focus on what we can do right now to help small growers grow."
One of the areas in which the Zipgrow towers deliver their highest value is by making underutilized space more productive. Some of the best traction Bright Agrotech has is in very harsh climates and very remote places. For example in the indoor growing side, growers are more in northern US, canada, Alaska. Nate is also looking to place more of his towers within urban areas, where soil access and conditions make it hard to grow fresh produce. He wants to push living walls as being more than ornamental and use them to increase access to food. Organizationally, they are looking at how to use vertical space in neighborhoods that are considered food deserts.
While the towers have started making their impact amongst vertical growers, the company has still a long way to go in terms of direct integration. The technology is gaining more and more traction but is not yet adopted on a very wide scale. For example, the towers were designed to deliver value at every single point of the user chain. One of those points is the end-user, the customer, buying produce while grocery shopping. The ZipGrow towers enables supermarkets to hang the towers directly in the store, allowing customers to harvest their own product, ensuring the freshest quality possible. However, this use has not been widely adopted as they have found people are still intimidated by this process. There has been a bit more success in other areas where the end-consumer is a bit more removed. Some restaurants, for example, have adopted the technology and integrated it directly into they space for consumers to enjoy and chefs to cook with.
“When you try to blend functional and aesthetics it often means compromising on one or the other, but with these towers you reach the full benefit of both” Nate explains. He hopes that down the road, people will become more familiar with the technology and adopt it within their environment more easily. That is why every Bright Agrotech client receives full support in their endeavors to grow, even if it means a personal visit for training.
“Our entire future is based on the fact that our user base will be growing more and expanding and buying. We can’t be successful if our clients aren’t. That is why we are passionate on helping them succeed through consulting, helping them pricing…”
I finally ask him what is next for Bright Agrotech. Nate hesitates a bit and finally tells me that we can expect to see more hardware coming out of the company down the road but does not expand further.
One thing is sure, the intentions behind Bright Agrotech are a refreshing and encouraging sign of the way in which vertical farming is evolving: with a locally-focused mind and open-source technology sharing of information. The field of agriculture needs an infusion of good ethics and Bright Agrotech as a leader is doing a good job of setting the tone.
Julie Buisson is founder of Modernature and Lead Contributor at Agritecture.com - Read Julie’s other posts here.
When it comes to the topic of urban farming and space, or lack thereof, most solutions have involved getting closer to the sky. Making use of rooftops is a solution that many find appealing and company’s like Gotham Greens, Lufa Farms, Edenworks, and Sky Vegetables are leading that approach. Rooftops allow otherwise underutilized space to become productive and has the added benefit of providing extra insulation to a building as well as ease storm water management practices. What seems like a win-win situation is brought into question today, as I write this outside a café in Lyon, France in a t-shirt…on December 15th.
While this is by no means a post on global warming, the dramatic shift in weather patterns that we have experienced over the past decade makes me think rooftop greenhouses might not be as viable a solution in the long-term as was originally thought. After all, the largest expense associated with any greenhouse is associated with cooling in the summer. This cost can only increase as global temperatures rise, especially when growing on a location that is void of any shade due to its elevation. The benefit of rooftop farming, free energy from the sun, now becomes a liability.
This is why urban farmers Steve Dring and Richard Ballard have turned their attention to the ground and created the world’s largest subterranean hydroponic farm in the heart of London. Growing a variety of microgreens and lettuces, the farm transformed a WWII bomb shelter into a veritable plant-factory distributing its produce to over 20 restaurants in London. While growing underground means having to rely purely on artificial lightning, the cost of heating and cooling are drastically reduced because the earth’s subsurface temperature remains stable. “The crops are grown in a sealed clean-room environment with a specially designed ventilation system, advanced lighting and a sophisticated irrigation that enables the farm to produce crops at very low energy. “ Indeed, underground dwelling are able to take advantage of geothermal mass and heat exchange. In addition, because underground farms have less surface area, they require fewer building materials, further reducing costs. Since they are hidden, they also provide minimum impact on the local ecology. Finally, underground farms are more resilient because a subterranean location means being earthquake, wind, and fire resistant.
Underground construction originated thousands of years ago but developed mostly through transportation and commercial industries. While subterranean homes have come back into style as the green building industry has gained momentum, there are still leaps to be made in the sector. Hopefully this form of low-impact design will gain popularity in the face of the success of the London Underground Farm and the ever-diminishing access to space.
Learn more about Growing Underground
Read this Telegraph Article about Growing Underground
Julie Buisson is the co-founder of Modernature, a company that specializes in creating and selling live growing systems for use in urban environments. A recent graduate of the dual program between Johns Hopkins and M.I.C.A, Julie has a strong academic background in human centered design, a problem solving method rooted in empathizing with the user experience, which she uses to tackle issues around urban agriculture. Certified in permaculture practice, she is passionate about creating growing systems that are technology-driven but imitate production patterns found in nature. Originally from France, Julie now lives in Baltimore where she grows a variety of microgreens in a 14ft trailer and sells them to local restaurants. Julie is an avid traveler and poem-reader!
Julie recently joined agritecture.com as our lead contributor and will be posting frequently through 2016. See other contributors at agritecture.com/team
