Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Vertical Farming in 2011

Vertical Farming has taken flight. In Dr. Dickson Despommier's "The Vertical Farm", his book demonstrated the idea on a grander scale of greenhouse skyscrapers growing hydroponically and aquaponically designed to be adapted by urban settings. The goal was to attain a more sustainable way to live by growing food locally and provide fresher, more affordable produce. It would empower impoverished cities and help solve the food crisis, cut down on air pollution from less food transportation, allow gradual repair on abandoned farmlands, create more jobs in local cities, and greatly reduce our carbon footprint. The idea has truly come out of the stage of conceptualization and into the production phase as Dr. Despommier comments, "Vertical farming has now moved from the “crazy idea” stage...to construction of functional prototypes in just eleven short years". - Dr. Despommier

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All eyes are on new vertical farming projects this year and this is our favorite so far:

The Plant Chicago


The Plant Chicago (Chicago, IL) - Located at the Stockyards Industrial Corridor, Director John Edel is the owner and developer of the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center. This building was the heart of the old meat packing industry during 1865-1944. Along with his team and local community efforts, the Peer Foods building has been reconstructed into a self-sustaining food production non-profit organization.  They plant itself runs on a net-zero energy system where no waste leaves the plant. Through anaerobic digestion by combining a heat and power system, waste is consumed and produced into methane, which is burned to create 300 kWh of electricity to self-sustain the heat and cooling system of the building. Through a closed-loop growing system using aquaponics, the symbiotic relationship of plant and fish will create its own ecosystem. Inside, the fish and plants will be sold at local food markets and restaurants, vertical farming will produce organic produce for locals (SkyyGreens), with a beer brewery (New Chicago Brewing Company), and a fermented tea/kombucha brewery (The Living Well Brewery, LLC).  The Plant also includes an aquaponic design and management center for urban agriculture (312 Aquaponics) and a red worm supplier for your local compost (Windy City Worms) with more to come for sure.



What an eye-opening, amazing feeling to see this project come to life as they document their case study on The Plant Blog. When they won $1.5 million in grant funds for Renewable Energy System from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, we felt like we were there with them! The help of community efforts and the goal for self sustainable food production will definitely be a model for urban cities alike. Hint Hint Los Angeles, you're next. We are definitely headed in the right direction with Foodprint Project. Let's keep it going LA, we will be keeping our eyes out for upcoming projects. 
Posted by JD Lightings Hydroponics at 11:21 AM

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