speaking of food crisis - inner city verticle farms

[ensho]

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/vertical-diagonal-farm-in-new-york.php


Vertical (Diagonal?) Farm from Work AC in NYC


We love vertical farms and while they may not be as practical as green roofs, the idea of food being grown right in the city doesn't get any more local than this. New York magazine asked four architects to dream up proposals for a lot on Canal Street and Work AC came up with this. “We thought we’d bring the farm back to the city and stretch it vertically,” says Work AC co-principal Dan Wood. “We are interested in urban farming and the notion of trying to make our cities more sustainable by cutting the miles ,” adds his co-principal (and wife) Amale Andraos. Underneath is what appears to be a farmers market, selling what grows above. Artists would be commissioned to design the columns that hold it up and define the space under: “We show a Brancusi, but it could be anyone,” says Wood. ::New York Magazine



Keep reading for more vertical farms covered in Treehugger.
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some great ideas

[glowing]

1. Are those golf corses I see in the middle of the levels?

[Sal Minella]

2. Well, better golf courses than racetracks for two-year-old thoroughbreds....

How would you like to be a pedestrian on the sidewalk below when some hotshot overshoots the green. ouch.

Think this project is ready for some more planning, preferably from people who have some real-world experience.

[NV Whino]

3. Not that I'm opposed to "farms" in the city...

but the logistics are somewhat overwhelming. Think about it.
1. getting the soil up to the levels.
2. getting the water up to the levels.
3. having a source for the water in the first place. (this may be a minor problem, perhaps no more difficult than provided water for a building.)
4. drainage.
5. harvesting and getting produce down.
6. the structure that could support all this. (a few columns ain't gonna do it.)

The list goes on.

[ensho]

4. wouldn't smaller versions of the above work on balconies/patios?

I've seen ads in gardening bks. for smaller versions of verticle growing? or am I misremembering, as they say.

[jwirr]

5. I was thinking the same thing - I wonder how many cities/rentals have laws

that prohibit window boxes, trellises on the outside of buildings? In the 60-70s there were several books that talked about gardening in small urban spaces.

[Fireweed247]

6. I'm no engineer...

but I think that might need more structural work. I think it is a great idea, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere near that.

I do love the idea of rooftop gardens. There should be one on every building!